


Camelot Escapes

by Ivalee



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: After Camlann Merlin Big Bang, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, M/M, Mystery, escape room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-24 18:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16180631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivalee/pseuds/Ivalee
Summary: Merlin and Arthur decide to open a set of Camelot-themed escape rooms with a couple of twists: their escape rooms are actually located in an old castle, and they are offering an all-night option, utilizing every room for a truly immersive escape experience.  Before opening, they invite their friends to spend a night in the castle for a test run, but the puzzling quest turns into a genuine mystery when their friends start disappearing one by one, and it seems the only explanation might be… magic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rou/gifts).



> When I asked Rou if she’d like to go for ACBB #5, I promised I would have it done this spring, but then I decided to change most of the story, and then life got in the way… anyway, I didn’t give Rou much to work with all summer, but as always, her patience and kindness was unending.
> 
> Rou, it has been such a pleasure working with you these last five years! I think I was the luckiest person in fandom to have you choose my first story long ago! As usual, your art amazes me, and I am so grateful for your hard work and unfailing kindness. ♥
> 
> And a huge thanks to Schweet Heart for the beta! Your comments and suggestions are always so helpful! Any mistakes are completely my own, because I wasn’t able to get to revisions until the last minute! And thanks to the mods for organizing everything and helping this fest to run so smoothly. You guys are awesome!

Merlin solved his first one hundred piece jigsaw puzzle at the age of two years old.  At four, he was obsessed with Sudoku puzzles. His mother started a tradition of weekly game nights, but she soon found it difficult to find games that would challenge and engage her clever son.  He quickly tired of conventional board games like Monopoly and Clue.

“They’re more like bored games.  Get it, Mum? _Bored_ games?”  six-year-old Merlin would say, throwing his head back to make a loud snoring sound as his mother gave him an indulgent smile, but he knew that before his next birthday, she would scour the second-hand shops for any new puzzles or games she thought he might find intriguing.

At uni, Merlin continued the tradition of weekly game nights with his friends.  There was a constantly rotating group of participants, and he freely acknowledged that most of them were there purely for the social aspect of a group of students getting together to drink a few beers, joke around and flirt over the friendly competition.  Merlin, a proud IT nerd, kept a database connecting the games played each week with a list of players so he could be sure he was providing a unique and interesting experience for everyone involved. He constantly added new games to the rotation and retired old ones as his friends seemed to lose interest.  All of this tracking he did behind the scenes, as he had no doubt his friends would mock him relentlessly if they knew he put so much work into what was supposed to be a stress-relieving evening of fun.

Merlin was the only one who took the game night quite so seriously, with the possible exception of Arthur Pendragon.  Although Merlin suspected it wasn’t the games themselves Arthur took seriously so much as the competition. Arthur would spend the evenings ignoring the humorous banter around the table, instead focusing all his attention on the cards or game pieces before him, occasionally looking up to stare down an opponent, making them second-guess their next move.

More than once, after a tough loss, Arthur would shove his chair away from the table and stalk to the door with no more than a gruff goodbye and a cursory “thanks” to Merlin, leaving the others to start their usual post-game chatter with an awkward silence or a stiff joke about “that sore loser, Pendragon.”  On those nights, however, Merlin knew that after everyone else had left, he could expect a phone call. Arthur would start with a quick apology for losing his temper, and then he and Merlin would spend at least an hour reviewing every detail of that evening’s game, analysing what went right and what went wrong.  By the end of the conversation, they would have moved on from post-game analysis to discussing their classes or local sport or whatever else was on their minds at the moment.

Outside of game night, Merlin and Arthur didn’t spend much time together.  They studied in different departments—Arthur in Finance and Merlin in Information Technology.  They only had a few mutual friends. Arthur was active in sporting clubs and could often be found practising on the football pitch, whereas Merlin was more studious, preferring to spend his free time in the library or gaming online.  So Merlin cherished the fact that he was the one Arthur turned to when he needed to work through his frustration on those nights when he felt he hadn’t played his best. Possibly because of those conversations, and the fact that they both put so much thought into the game play, when Merlin and Arthur were paired up for team games, they were unbeatable.

After uni, Merlin worked for seven years in the tech support department of a gas company, but he began to realise he would die from boredom if he had to apply one more software patch or answer one more phone call where the solution was basically, “try rebooting your computer.”  He’d had an idea stirring in the back of his mind about starting his own business, and he had some money saved up, so the timing seemed right. But Merlin knew he couldn’t do it alone. He would need to recruit a partner, and there was only one person who came to mind.

“Hey, Arthur!  It’s Merlin.” Merlin fidgeted with his pen cap as he spoke with magnified cheeriness over the phone.  “Merlin Emrys? From uni? You used to come to game night at my flat?”

“Um… I’m sorry.  I don’t remember knowing a Merlin.”

Merlin’s heart sank.  What was he thinking? If Arthur didn’t even remember him, there was no way he would want to go into business together.  But just as Merlin started to stammer out an apology, Arthur chuckled.

“You nimwit, of course I remember you.  How could I forget the only bloke who’s ever beat me at _Dominion_?”

Relief flooded Merlin and he couldn’t think of a clever comeback, so he simply said, “Ah yes, I remember it well, the glorious night I built a kingdom even grander than King Arthur’s.”

“Whatever.  It was that alchemy expansion pack.  You start adding magic into the mix, and you’re not even playing the same game.  If it weren’t for that stupid possession card...” Arthur trailed off, muttering something Merlin couldn’t make out, but he grinned nonetheless.  Even after all these years, it seemed Arthur still took his board games seriously. A surge of hope rose in Merlin’s heart, and he got distracted for a moment, so Arthur prompted him, “Uh, Merlin?  Not that it isn’t good to hear from you, but… I mean, it’s been seven years... What made you call today?”

“Yeah, sorry about that.  I’m not great at keeping in touch with people,” Merlin admitted.  “Although, it would help if you were on any form of social media.”

“Oh, social media,” Arthur said with disdain.  “I don’t really see the appeal.”

Somehow that didn’t surprise Merlin.  “Well, I use it to keep up with old friends I don’t really know well enough to call or visit.”

Arthur snorted.  “I guess it’s important to some people to know what everyone had for breakfast each day or that they’re looking for a new dentist.”

Good to know Arthur was as ornery as he ever was.  “That’s not all people post! Like, did you know that Cenred Essetir got married last month?  To that girl, Sophia, the one he brought to game night a bunch of times.”

“Mmm,” Arthur mused.  “How have I lived without the knowledge that Cenred Essetir is now married to a random girl from game night?  You’ve convinced me, Merlin. I’m signing up this instant.”

He mocked, but Merlin could hear the smile behind his words.  Encouraged by this, Merlin plunged ahead with his reason for calling.

“So, you might remember how much I’ve always loved complicated games and challenging puzzles?”

“I do recall the game shelf in your flat being so full I was afraid to walk near it for fear it would tip over on me.”

“Right.”  Merlin laughed.  “Well, lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve stalled in my career.  I’m not feeling challenged at all, and most days I just count down the minutes until I can go home.  So I’ve decided to quit my job and start up my own business.”

“Well, it’s not the best economy for start-up businesses at the moment, but it’s certainly not the worst.  I assume you’re talking about some sort of technology consulting thing? Did you call hoping for some free financial advice?  Because I might be willing to help out a bit, but I can’t do it from work, mate. You’ll have to call me at home.”

“Actually, I wasn’t exactly looking for financial advice.  More like a business partner?” Merlin squeezed his eyes shut, because he was realising more and more what a bad idea this phone call was.

Arthur huffed out a laugh.  “A business partner? I don’t know anything about computers, Merlin.  And why would I leave a secure job at a well-established company to come run the finances of a tiny start-up?”

Merlin took a deep breath to steady his nerves.  He knew getting Arthur would be a long shot, but he had to at least make his appeal.

“I don’t want to do consulting, and my business has nothing to do with computers.”

“So what is this grand idea of yours that’s supposed to lure me away from my corner office and financial security?”

“I want to open a Camelot-themed escape room.”

Arthur was silent on the other end of the phone, and Merlin smiled to himself, encouraged, because he knew what the silence meant.  He remembered how Arthur used to drive everyone—particularly Gwaine—crazy during game nights as he stared at the board for minutes at a time, plotting out all his possible moves.  His current silence had to mean he was at least considering Merlin’s proposal. Seconds ticked away, and Merlin’s hopes climbed higher and higher.

Finally, Arthur responded, “Okay, it’s not the worst idea in the world.  You have my attention, so tell me more.”

Merlin pumped his fist, celebrating clearing the first hurdle, and then opened his notebook to tell his potential partner all about his plan.

  
  


“Oh!  We should totally make the final challenge pulling Excalibur from a stone.  It can have the code to get out the door carved into the blade! Or when it’s pulled out, it could just remote unlock the escape door.”  Merlin was almost bouncing up and down with excitement at his obviously brilliant idea.

“How are you going to keep the sword in the stone until the end?”

“Well, it would have to be locked in, I guess.  Maybe solving another puzzle will trigger some mechanism that will release it so it can be pulled out.”

“Okay, but we have to think about the mechanics of how that will work, Merlin,” Arthur said calmly.  “How exactly do you lock a sword into a stone in a way that it can be remotely released?”

Merlin and Arthur sat in a cafe with piles of notebooks and Merlin’s laptop open in front of them.  This was their third lunch hour brainstorming session in the last two weeks, and it was going basically the same as the two before.  Merlin was overflowing with ideas for cleverly themed puzzles, and Arthur reeled him in by pointing out what would and wouldn’t work and what might be too expensive to implement or too complicated for the average player—meaning anyone who hadn’t spent their entire life obsessed with puzzles and strategy games like Merlin—to be able to solve in the given time limit.

Arthur tapped his pen on the table, as he did whenever he was deep in thought.  Merlin could tell he liked the idea of the sword in the stone and was figuring out how they might actually build such a thing, so Merlin let him be for the moment and sat quietly, waiting for his solution.  He stared at the crease that always appeared in Arthur’s forehead as he pondered and couldn’t help smiling. Sometimes he still had to pinch himself to prove this wasn’t all just a dream. It had taken several long phone conversations, two meetings over coffee and one trip to the bank to convince Arthur that he wouldn’t be throwing his life away by joining Merlin in this crazy endeavour, but after all that, Arthur had actually agreed to quit his job and invest his time and money into creating an escape room.  Most of the time, Arthur maintained a calm and rational manner in discussing and planning all aspects of the business, but occasionally, he would get caught up in Merlin’s excitement, and they would grin and laugh as they tossed ideas back and forth for puzzles that might fit the theme and help guide their players through to the final escape.

“There will have to be a hole in the bottom of the sword.”

Merlin grinned.  He knew Arthur would come up with a solution.

“And then within the stone is a pin that goes through that hole to keep the sword locked in place.  We’d have to use some sort of solenoid locking system to release the pin when, for example, the door of a nearby cupboard is opened,” Arthur explained, and when Merlin looked confused at the mention of a solenoid locking system, he waved his hand.  “It’s done with magnets and electricity. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”

“That sounds excellent,” Merlin declared, and Arthur gave a satisfied nod.  “Also, I’ve been thinking that we might want to avoid more modern style locks like combination locks.  I think we should stick with our theme completely and use only ancient-looking padlocks with those old style keys.  I found a company online that sells them.” He opened the bookmarked page on his laptop before sliding it across the table for Arthur to see.

Arthur nodded.  “They look good, but they’re a little on the expensive side.  Let me do some searching to see if I can find a better deal.” He jotted a note down in his to-do list, but then glanced back up at Merlin, frowning.  “Although, won’t we be limiting ourselves if we don’t use any combination locks? Most escape rooms have a variety of puzzles that lead to not only keys, but combinations of numbers or letters or even directions.  If it’s all just keys, guests will just have to try every lock, but if you have a variety of styles of locks, guests know when they’ve solved for three numbers to find a traditional combination lock or if they’ve found a pattern of North, South, East and West to look for a directional lock.  Does that make sense?”

With a mischievous smile, Merlin opened one of his notebooks to show Arthur his idea for utilizing technology in a medieval themed room.  “We can still use combinations in addition to keys, but instead of regular locks, we’ll have digital keypads in disguise. We can make it look like a magic spell pressed into a stone tablet.”  He showed Arthur the diagram he had made of a series of symbols on what looked like a slab of stone. “See, this can be printed on a sheet of textured vinyl fabric, and it will overlay the keypad.  That way, it won’t look like a modern keypad, but when they touch the symbols in the correct order, it will press the keys underneath and release the lock.”

He looked up at Arthur hopefully and was rewarded with a broad grin.

“I love it.”

Merlin’s heart soared, and he plunged ahead, hoping to show Arthur he was serious about the business side of the escape room and wasn’t just caught up in the fun of planning medieval-themed puzzles.  “Last weekend, I scouted out a few properties that might suit our needs within our price range.”

Arthur pulled away from the table and took a deep breath, and Merlin worried that Arthur might be having second thoughts, so he stammered, “I mean, you know, what I estimate our price range will be, based on a fifty-fifty partnership.  Obviously, if you want to contribute less, I could look into more loan options.”

Instead of responding to Merlin’s ramble, however, Arthur asked, “Did you know that on the north side of the city, there’s an old abandoned castle?”

“Clempsten Castle?” Merlin frowned.  Surely Arthur wasn’t suggesting they rent the castle?  True, an ancient castle would be a perfect setting for a Camelot-themed escape room, but surely it was wildly out of their price range.  If it was even available. “I’ve not actually seen it, but I’ve heard stories. There’s a lot of mystery around it, isn’t there? Kids are always trying to break in on dares, because they figure an old castle’s got to be haunted.  But no one even knows who owns it.”

“I own it.”

Merlin dropped the pen he was holding and stared blankly at Arthur.  “Say that again.”

The corners of Arthur’s mouth quirked slightly upward, but his face remained otherwise inscrutable.  “The castle has been in my family for generations, and the last legal owner was my grandfather. He was more of a businessman than a historian, so he had the place boarded up years ago, but because it was important to his father, he never sold it.  Well, he died last year and left ownership to me.”

Arthur paused to take a sip of soda before continuing, “I’ve been having the same problem he did, though.  There’s a lot of family history there, so I don’t want to sell it, but the cost of upkeep is so high, the only way to maintain it would be to rent it out for weddings and events, but—I don’t know, I have no interest in being involved with running that sort of event, so I would have to hire someone to be in charge.  That cost in addition to remodelling costs would mean I wouldn’t turn a profit until after two or three years, assuming the space was fully booked. Anyway, it didn’t seem worth the effort, so there it sits, untouched.”

Merlin continued staring in shock at Arthur as he spoke.  They had spent the last few weeks going over and over plans and finances, and Arthur was just now mentioning that he owned a castle?

Arthur was still babbling about the cost of heating and cooling such a large space when Merlin blurted out, “What the hell, Arthur?  You’re telling me you own an actual castle and you didn’t think to mention this until just now?”

With a sigh, Arthur explained. “I didn’t want you to get your hopes up.  It’s been closed up for years with absolutely no maintenance, and it’s entirely possible the repair costs will be close to a hundred thousand.  When my grandfather first left it to me, I did some research, and the costs of maintenance on castles as old as this one are so high that even people who rent them out for events or as a hotel can barely scrape by.  I just don’t see how an escape room could make any profit at all.”

“Okay.”  Merlin scoffed.  “So why did you bring it up, then?”

Arthur looked down and shrugged.  “I haven’t been there since my grandfather died.  Hell, I haven’t even been there since I was a kid.  My dad and my grandpa never got along, and after my mother died, Dad basically cut off contact with her family.  I only saw Grandpa a few times growing up, and he mostly just talked about his business.” Arthur chuckled mirthlessly.  “He and Dad actually had a lot in common.” He paused, pursing his lips together. “It’s weird… even though I’m pretty sure my mother never even visited Clempsten Castle, I always sort of associated it with her, you know?”

Merlin nodded with a sympathetic smile.  He could certainly understand looking for connections with a deceased parent.  There was a park down the street from his childhood home where he always imagined playing with his dad, even though his father had died before he was born and never even knew he existed.

“Anyway,” Arthur continued, “With all this talk of King Arthur and his court, of course I keep thinking about that castle and how exciting it would be if it would work as the setting for this escape room.  And—“ he closed his eyes, biting the corner of his lip for a moment, “I haven’t been able to make myself go out there, but I thought together we might go check it out?”

He raised his eyes hopefully to Merlin, and Merlin couldn’t help smiling.  “Of course.” He nodded heartily. “I’d love to see it. When can we go?”

|   
---|---  
  
They had to wait until the weekend, since Arthur was still finishing up at his old job, so Saturday morning, Arthur picked Merlin up at his flat.

“Thanks for doing this, Merlin,” Arthur said as he pulled onto the main road that would take them north of town.  “I appreciate you giving up a Saturday for what will most likely be a complete waste of time.”

“It’s no problem,” Merlin said, keeping his voice deliberately calm.

His stomach, however, had been turning somersaults since he climbed into the car.  He had actually awoken early that morning, filled with excitement at the thought of a day spent with Arthur, exploring an ancient castle.  He tried to quiet his nerves as he waited for Arthur to arrive, reminding himself that Arthur would likely approach this visit from a practical standpoint. The slight sentimentality Merlin had seen in him when he talked about the castle was the most emotionally open he had ever seen Arthur, and he doubted Arthur showed that side of himself often.  He was thrilled that Arthur trusted him, of all people, to share this nostalgic journey with him, but he fully expected Arthur to be business as usual, talking about things like stone repair and mildew, rather than sharing family memories or imagining the castle as King Arthur’s in Camelot.

But when he texted to let Merlin know he was waiting downstairs, he had actually used an exclamation point.  “I’m here!” And when Merlin bounded outside to meet him, he stood leaning against his car with a blinding grin on his face, and he had even picked up a coffee for Merlin—and had remembered that Merlin liked two creams and no sugar in his coffee.

Merlin took Arthur’s actions as a good sign, and he started to feel that fluttery feeling in his stomach that he always felt when he was developing a crush. He couldn’t allow those feelings to grow;  Arthur was his business partner and his friend. So he sipped his coffee and spent most of the journey looking out the window away from Arthur, allowing him to guide the conversation, which remained safely in the realm of small talk until they pulled onto the road leading to the castle, when they both became quiet, taking in their surroundings.

Arthur turned onto a small private road and drove slowly up to an ornate wrought iron gate.  Beyond the gate, Merlin could see hints of a road, but the trees that lined the path had grown freely for so long, their limbs tangled together, making a tunnel of foliage so thick that sunlight only showed in small patches dancing across the ground.  Obviously neglected for years, the buckled pavement was carpeted with rotting leaves and fallen branches.

Merlin hoped Arthur did not plan to drive down this path, and fortunately Arthur stopped the car just outside the gate.  “The gate’s badly rusted, and it won’t open enough to let the car through, so we’re on foot from here.”

They soon discovered the rust was worse than Arthur thought, and the gate would barely open at all.  Arthur pushed it open just enough for Merlin to squeeze through, and then Merlin turned around and returned the favour.  A slight breeze rustled the leaves before them as they started down the path to the castle. Merlin squinted ahead in the dim light. The road curved to the right so he couldn’t see the castle through the trees.

“I can’t believe you don't have any photographs of the castle you own,” Merlin teased as he picked his way around large cracks in the pavement.  He found himself focusing on the practical aspects almost involuntarily as he added up the cost of repairing the road and clearing the brush enough for vehicles to drive up to the castle.  His bright mood waned, and his feet suddenly felt heavier with every step he took. Even rent free, this dilapidated property might be too much of a money pit to make business sense.

“Like I mentioned before, I haven't been here since I was a kid,” Arthur said. “My grandfather brought me once, but I guess the first thing I did was find a stick that looked like a sword and run around fighting battles with imaginary villains. My grandpa decided it wasn’t safe for a ten year old to run around climbing trees with a four foot stick, so he didn’t bring me again.”

Merlin laughed.  He could totally picture ten year old Arthur sneaking through the forest with a giant stick, ready to slay a dragon.

“If I had known he was going to leave the castle to me, I would have asked to play a bigger role in its upkeep and management.  Just seeing this path is making me dread the state of the castle itself.” Arthur kicked at a loose chunk of concrete. “I apologize, Merlin.  This may turn out to be too far out of our budget.”

Arthur sounded so defeated, Merlin’s heart went out to him.  “Well, it’s worth a look anyway. Besides, I’m having fun. Who wouldn’t enjoy a trip to an ancient castle, even if it is in ruins?”

Arthur gave him a grateful smile, and they reached a bend in the path.  Merlin looked through the opening in the trees to get his first glance of the castle.  His breath caught in his throat. “It’s magnificent,” he breathed, his steps slowing to a halt as he stared up at the castle.  

The walls were grey stone and covered with ivy, and yet somehow, showed no signs of weathering.  Two round towers flanked the castle, making the structure appear strong and intimidating. Merlin could almost see the knights of Camelot standing proud along the battlements, ready to defend the castle against any enemies.  He took a few more steps toward the castle and laughed when he saw what was ahead.

“Wait.” Merlin held up both hands.  “There’s an actual moat?” He grinned back at Arthur, who was casting his gaze around, taking in the sight of the castle himself.

“So it would appear.”

Arthur followed Merlin across a stone bridge that had obviously been added years after the construction of the castle itself.  “Should we add water to the moat, or would that be too much, do you think?”

Snorting, Merlin turned back to give a smart retort, but just as Arthur stepped off the bridge, a wave of dizziness overcame him, and his knees buckled beneath him.  He fell to the ground, barely catching himself with his hands. Instantly, Arthur was at his side, placing a solid hand on his shoulder and gripping his elbow carefully.  Merlin looked up at him with a sheepish grin, but the sun was in his eyes, making him blink rapidly. His heart flipped as he gazed up at Arthur, because in the blinding sun, just for a moment, it appeared to Merlin as if Arthur were wearing chainmail.  He blinked again, and the image was gone. Arthur pulled him to his feet, wearing the same grey polo and black trousers he had been wearing before.

“Sorry.”  Merlin shook his head and brushed dead leaves from his jeans.  “I don’t know what came over me.”

“S’all right,” Arthur said, his hand lingering on Merlin’s forearm a moment longer than necessary.  He, too, shook his head, released his hold on Merlin and stepped back, clearing his throat. “If we do use the castle, we’ll add to the maintenance list regular clearing out of loose leaves.  Wouldn’t want someone to slip over and then sue us.”

“Right.”  Merlin nodded firmly.  “Good point.”

They both approached the massive double doors to the castle and paused again.

“Intimidating,” Merlin said flatly.

“Just a bit,” Arthur responded with a slight chuckle.

“Is this the only way in?”  Merlin asked as Arthur jiggled the ancient key in the rusted lock.

Arthur shrugged.  “Not sure.”

He kept jiggling until the lock clicked.  He pushed on the heavy door, and they both laughed as it groaned and creaked, jamming every few seconds.  Arthur leaned against the wood, bumping it with his hip until the doorway was open wide enough for the two of them to pass through.

As they entered the castle, Merlin expected to find crumbling walls and cracked and rusted relics, covered in layers of dust and cobwebs.  Instead, the interior was shockingly perfect. The door opened into a grand hallway whose walls were lined with tapestries depicting medieval battles, but the tapestries looked like they had been woven earlier that week.  Merlin and Arthur exchanged repeated looks of shock and delight as they explored one pristine room after another.

“How is this possible?”  Arthur wondered. He slid his fingers along the mantle of a cavernous fireplace and held them up to Merlin, eyebrows raised.  “Not a speck of dust. My grandfather always said this place needed tens of thousands of pounds worth of restoration.”

Merlin was just as baffled as Arthur, but as they walked from room to room, he cared less and less about the mystery of the spotless castle.  He began to see in his mind all the possibilities for puzzles in each room.

“Look at the size of that bed, Arthur!”  He ran into one of the bedrooms and had to hold himself back from pouncing onto the centre of a massive four poster bed.  “We should make this King Arthur’s chamber. And look at this wardrobe!” Merlin slid his hand across the intricately carved wooden panels before opening the doors.  “We can rig these to pop open when another puzzle is solved. Maybe we can have our guests match different sized candles to certain candelabras and that will cause that solo-magnet thing to trigger the doors.”

The next room over was decorated in a softer, more feminine style.  “This can be Queen Guinevere’s chamber.” Merlin pointed at a vase on a side table.  “We can get someone to create a painting of this vase with no flowers in it, and then we can put fake flowers in this vase, so the guests will know the flowers aren’t supposed to be there.  When they lift the flowers, there’ll be a key attached to the bottom. And that key can open—“ he ran to the other side of the room as Arthur watched him, laughing, “—this chest of drawers.  Or, no! Actually, maybe the wardrobe or something. We should remove the drawers from this chest and hide them around the room, and then they only fit back into the chest in a certain order, and once they’re all in, it triggers a black light—you know, like a magical glow—underneath the chest that reveals another clue.”

Merlin noticed a door to the right of the chest of drawers and pushed it open.  “Look! This leads back into Arthur’s room. I mean, King Arthur’s room.” He checked for a lock on the door and found it locked from both sides.  “Look at that! What a feminist Guinevere was! Arthur had to knock and get consent even from his own wife.”

Arthur interrupted. “You do remember this wasn’t actually Camelot, right?”

“Right.  Sorry.” Merlin felt a little silly for getting caught up in his fantasy, but then he had another thought.  “Ooh! Maybe you have to solve some clues in Guinevere’s room first, before you can even unlock the door to Arthur’s room.”

He dashed through the door back into the king’s chamber, full of ideas for even more puzzles, but Arthur followed him and grabbed his hand.  “Would you slow down for a minute? I’m getting a little overwhelmed.” He led Merlin to the bed and took a seat, patting the mattress for Merlin to join him.  

Merlin sat down, let out a deep breath and turned to look at Arthur.  “Sorry. I guess I got carried away.” He took another look around the room that looked so flawlessly medieval, it was almost like something from a movie set.  “It’s all just so perfect!”

Arthur gave him a wary look.  “Exactly. But Merlin, this is worlds away from how the place looked last time I was here.  I mean, the walls were literally rotting. How is everything so perfect?”

“Maybe your grandfather had some restoration work done before he died?”  It was the only explanation Merlin could think of.

“And he didn’t tell me?  And there’s no record of any work in the deed?”  Arthur shook his head. “Trust me, my grandfather would not have invested the amount of money required to make these improvements without carefully documenting everything.  He would have had the place reappraised immediately to prove it was money well spent.”

“Maybe he didn’t want his taxes to increase,” Merlin guessed.

Again, Arthur shook his head.  “Not my grandfather. He was an absolute stickler for following rules.  Trust me. If he had made any improvements, there would be a record.”

Merlin was just as baffled as Arthur.  “Well, I don’t know. Is there some other relative who might have wanted to restore the castle without your grandfather’s approval?  You said he just left the place sitting here untouched, so he probably hadn’t visited in years. Maybe he didn’t know anything had been done.”

Arthur looked at Merlin, perplexed, his eyes unfocused as if he were trying to think of anyone who might have cared enough to put this much work into the castle.  “Even if someone secretly restored the place, why would they decorate it like this? Like a medieval king lived here. That’s not even historically accurate. Clempsten Castle was built in the early 1700s.  It shouldn’t have plain stone floors and walls. And there should be—I don’t know—a chandelier in every room.”

“Maybe this other relative thought the castle would be left to them, and they wanted to open a medieval-themed hotel?”  At Merlin’s suggestion, Arthur folded his arms and raised his eyebrows, but Merlin was on a roll now. “Or maybe they wanted to rent the place out to studios for filming.  That’s why the decorations are sparse. They were going to leave it up to each production company to dress the set for their own movie.”

This theory was met with a sceptical glare from Arthur, so Merlin threw his hands up, indicating he was out of ideas.  “Or maybe it was aliens. Or, you know... “ He wiggled his fingers. “Magic.”

Finally Arthur smiled and looked back out into the room.  “So where is this mystery relative who had high hopes of providing a backdrop for movies or whatever?  Why haven’t they tried to take me to court to prove the castle belongs to them?”

“I don’t know, Arthur,” Merlin said, feeling the excitement rise within him again.  “But until they show up and win that case, the castle is yours, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”  Were Arthur’s eyes twinkling?

“And yes, the road in front will need repaving, and the outside could use some landscaping, and that front door needs to be replaced, but other than that, the only costs required will be installing the actual escape room elements.”

Arthur nodded along, his eyes most definitely twinkling.  “True.”

“So?”  Merlin looked at Arthur hopefully, holding back the grin that was threatening to burst forth across his face.

After only a brief moment of introspection, Arthur turned a brilliant smile to Merlin.  “So, we should get started turning this place into The Great Camelot Escape.”

Merlin only just managed to stop himself from throwing both arms around Arthur with pure glee.

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Since the inside of the castle required no restoration and very little decorating, Merlin and Arthur hired contractors to repave the road, repair the door and install public restrooms, and landscapers to add atmosphere to the property.  Meanwhile, they completed their plans and began installing props, locks, infrared sensors, and magnetic releases in the rooms of what they were now calling Camelot Escapes. Sometimes they worked together and other times they worked separately on projects, but they met daily for lunch to go over their progress.

“You know, it seems a shame that most people will only come in to do one of the escape rooms, and they won’t get to see the rest of the castle,” Merlin mused as he picked the tomatoes out of his salad and tossed them over onto Arthur’s plate.  “Although maybe just getting a hint of it will make them want to come back and try all the rooms.”

So far, Merlin and Arthur planned to have five escape rooms: the Royal Chambers, the Council Room that housed the famous Round Table, the Kitchen, Merlin’s Magical Laboratory, and the Dungeon, in which the participants would begin their quest chained to the wall in complete darkness.

“We could offer tours, I guess,” Arthur said.  “After a group has completed one room, we could let them take a look at the other rooms to entice them to spend more money for another go.”

Merlin was quiet for a moment, considering that idea.  “I wish we could offer a sort of premium experience where we combine multiple rooms—similar to the Royal Chambers, where you have to solve some puzzles in the first room in order to unlock the second, but combining even more rooms throughout the castle.  The puzzles could be more challenging to draw in people who have already successfully completed another room or two.”

Arthur put his fork down and stared at Merlin.  “Why don’t we?”

With a shrug, Merlin said, “Well, I don’t know if we could get away with charging double, and then one room would be making less money than if it had another group in it at the same time.”

“But what if we offered a more immersive experience during a time when we wouldn’t necessarily have any other visitors?”

Merlin was confused.  “Like early in the morning?”

But Arthur shook his head.  “No, like overnight.” He leaned forward, placing both hands flat on the table.  “What if we locked people in the castle overnight, and they had to use all the rooms at once?  We could say they were candidates for knighthood and they have to prove their skill and cunning to King Arthur to join the knights.”

“The Quest for the Round Table,” Merlin said, dramatically.

“Yes.”  Arthur reached across the table and grabbed Merlin’s arm, excited.

Merlin tried to ignore the jolt of electricity he felt at the touch, as Arthur continued, “We’ll be able to use some of the same puzzles as usual in the rooms, but we should have a quick way to change over and make several rooms interact with each other for the overnight quest.”

Arthur pulled his hand away, back to business as usual, jotting down notes for the new premium quest and muttering to himself as he wrote, and Merlin took advantage of his distraction to watch his partner carefully.  He loved the way Arthur almost disappeared into himself when he was focused. They both loved solving puzzles, but they each had their own approach to finding a solution. For Merlin, the logic required came more naturally.  Most of the time he would barely glance at a problem or puzzle before it made sense instantly. He would blurt out the solution without even realising how he came to it. Other times, elements of a puzzle seemed to jump around before his eyes, flipping and switching and trying to line up into a solution, but nothing made sense.  In those cases, he would lose patience and find himself getting distracted. He was not accustomed to struggling with puzzles. Usually the solution would become clear a while later, as if his mind had been working on the problem all along without his being aware.

For Arthur, however, the solution rarely became clear instantaneously.  He worked at unravelling the puzzle, bit by bit, using different strategies until one worked.  He could always explain his logic later, too, where Merlin could only say, “Well, it was obvious, wasn’t it?”

These differences were one of the reasons they made such great partners.  Merlin was more likely to leap from one grand idea to the next without putting in the work to ensure their proper execution, but Arthur refused to follow Merlin’s flights of fancy until they had a realistic strategy for each idea.  In a way, he made Merlin’s dreams come to life, and Merlin rather adored him for that.

Arthur turned to a fresh page and continued taking notes, fleshing out their newest idea, and Merlin forced himself to look away.  The success of their business depended on their partnership remaining solid, and based on his previous dating experience, Merlin was convinced that any change in their relationship would risk weakening their amiable rapport.  So, even though Merlin felt a thrill every time he looked at Arthur or heard his voice, he refused to give in to his crush. Arthur might be the most intriguing and inspiring man he had ever met, with whom he could easily imagine spending the rest of his life, but they were business partners, and that would have to be enough.

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Three weeks before Camelot Escapes was set to open, Merlin and Arthur met at the castle for one of their final walk-throughs.  Merlin laughed when Arthur pulled out his notepad with a checklist that was six pages long.

“Are you seriously going to check off every item on that list?”

“Of course,” Arthur answered. “We can’t have any mistakes on opening day, or we’ll get bad reviews and no one else will come.”  Strolling around the entry hall, Arthur began double checking every item, from the framed list of rules on the wall to the lockers to the restrooms.

Merlin groaned.  “This is going to take forever, isn’t it?  Can’t we just do a run-through in each of the escape rooms?  That would be more fun, and we’d be guaranteed to find out if there was anything missing or if something doesn’t work the way we think it will.”

Silent all of a sudden, Arthur stared at Merlin intently, and Merlin smiled, because he knew that look.  Arthur was about to say something clever.

“A run-through is exactly what we need.”  Arthur pointed one finger at Merlin. “But it needs to be authentic.   _We_ already know all the puzzles.  We know what to look for, so we won’t be messing around with things that are unrelated to the specific pattern of clues.   _We_ don’t know what objects might pose a danger or might be easily broken or moved in such a way that it hampers the solution of another puzzle.”

Following Arthur’s logic, Merlin said, “So we need some other people to do our run-through for us.”

“Exactly.”  A smile spread slowly across Arthur’s face.  “And I know who we should bring in. Do you still have contact information for all the old game night regulars from uni?”

Merlin’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in delight.  He couldn’t help breathing out a laugh. “Yeah, I think I do. For some of them, anyway.  I keep up with Elyan and Percy… and hey, did you know Gwen and Lance got married?”

Eyes narrowing, Arthur pointed out, “Uh, yeah.  They got married right after graduation. I was at the wedding, remember?”

“Right.”  Merlin shook his head, feeling silly for forgetting, but then his excitement took over again.  “Oh, this is going to be fun. Can you even imagine Gwaine loose in this place?”

Arthur’s smile disappeared.  “Well, if anyone can find all the potential hazards around here, it would be Gwaine.”  His shoulders dropped. “Ugh. And I know who else we should invite.”

“Who’s that?”  Merlin asked.

“My sister, Morgana.”  Arthur’s forehead creased.  “She’ll be picky and insulting the whole night, but she’s a solicitor in the field of commercial litigation.”

Merlin started laughing.  He had only met Morgana once or twice during their university days, but her choice of profession seemed a perfect fit for her assertive personality.

To Merlin’s dismay, Arthur still wanted to go through his checklist before they invited their friends, to ensure everything was ready even for a run-through.  First they checked the security system they had installed to monitor the activity throughout the castle, and then they examined each room to make sure every item needed to solve the puzzles was in place.

In King Arthur’s chamber, Merlin noticed a quill on the desk that he had never seen before.  He held it up to show Arthur. “Did you put this quill here?”

Looking up from his checklist, Arthur shook his head.  “No. Maybe it was in a drawer or in the wardrobe and one of the contractors doing electrical work moved it.”  He turned away to tug on a picture frame that concealed a small alcove to make sure the magnetic lock keeping the frame from swinging open would hold until it was released.

Merlin placed the quill back onto the desk, deciding Arthur must be right, and moved on to the bedside table to check the keys that hung from the ornately carved wooden cupboard that sat atop the table.  Only one of them could be removed from its hook, and it would be used to unlock the drawers inside the wardrobe.

Room by room, they ticked off items on Arthur’s checklist.  Along the way, they discovered a few other oddly placed objects they had no recollection of seeing before: a bejeweled gold circlet and a silver bracelet in the Queen’s chamber, a necklace with a gold ring and an iridescent charm hanging from a hook in the kitchen, and some chainmail and weaponry in the armoury where guests would wait as they received special instructions for the dungeon challenge.  Merlin thought it was curious they hadn’t seen those things before, but as Arthur pointed out, the castle was filled with medieval artefacts, and there had been quite a few contractors roaming around over the last few weeks who may have moved items as they worked.

Merlin and Arthur finished their inspection in the Council Room, the largest room in the castle.  In the middle of the room sat the famed Round Table, surrounded by tall, wooden chairs lined with red velvet cushions.  The room was decorated with portraits of characters from Arthurian legend. Along one wall were the knights: Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Percivale and Sir Elyan.  Opposite the knights, a portrait of King Arthur was flanked on either side by his beautiful queen, Guinevere, and his trusted advisor, Merlin. On Merlin’s other side hung a painting of the court sorcerer’s magical apprentice, Morgan le Fay.

When Merlin and Arthur finally checked off the last item, Arthur closed his notepad and tossed it onto the round table and they both stood in silence, sharing a moment of pride in what they had accomplished.  Merlin grinned across the table at Arthur, who returned his smile, eyes sparkling.

Finally, Arthur broke the silence.  “Well, I think these are the coolest escape rooms I’ve ever seen.  I almost wish I weren’t part owner, so I could experience them for myself!”

Merlin laughed, nodding his agreement.

“Thank you.”  Arthur’s voice was tender, making Merlin’s breath catch in his throat.  “You know, for including me in this endeavour.” A soft smile played at Arthur’s lips, and he started walking slowly around the table toward Merlin.  “I know I used to tease you relentlessly when we played all those board games as students, and yes, over the last few months, I have been known to mock your somewhat careless approach to building a business.”

He stopped when he reached Merlin and looked right into his eyes, and Merlin thought his fluttering heart might fly right out of his chest.  “But I actually admire your wildly creative mind.”

A compliment from Arthur?  Merlin must be dreaming. But Arthur wasn’t finished.  “I never would have come up with something like this on my own.  And even though I gave up a top position at a prestigious firm for this, and it’s entirely possible this venture will bankrupt us, I wouldn’t trade this time for anything.  Working with you on this has been brilliant.”

That was it.  Merlin had died and gone to some bizarre Camelot-themed heaven.

Arthur’s eyes flicked down to Merlin’s lips, and Merlin’s brain presented him with the daft idea that Arthur might actually kiss him, but instead, Arthur took a step back, cleared his throat, and punched him on the shoulder.

After receiving such a sincere compliment from Arthur, Merlin was tempted to open the floodgates and let all of his pent up feelings flow out in the form of effusive praise.  However, he decided to respect that Arthur seemed to feel uncomfortable about expressing such sentiment. So he simply said, “These escape rooms wouldn’t be nearly as engaging without this incredible setting, so thank you for sharing your inheritance!  And for reining in some of my more extravagant ideas.”

“Well, a magic spell book that keeps switching shelves was a fun idea, but hardly practical.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really think that one through.”  Merlin would never forget the incredulous look on Arthur’s face when he pitched that particular puzzle.  He never knew eyebrows could rise that high.

Arthur was still chuckling, so Merlin shoved him and then said, “Hey, we should take a photo of us for the website.”

“Of us?  Why?”

“Like a curiosity.  A way to draw people in,” Merlin explained.  “I mean, come on, how many Camelot themed escape rooms are run by blokes named Merlin and Arthur?  We should pose over here,” he ran to the opposite side of the round table, pointing at the portraits on the wall,  “in front of our portraits!”

Arthur looked sceptical, but he followed Merlin.  “Those aren’t portraits of us. They’re just random public domain images of King Arthur and Merlin that we found online.”

Merlin rolled his eyes.  “Yes, I know that, thanks.  This morning when I shaved, I didn’t have to trim off three feet of white beard.  But still… it’s Arthur and Merlin, and we’re Arthur and Merlin. Come on, it’ll be funny!”

“Fine.”  Arthur gave in with a fond smile.  “But don’t we need someone to take the photo for us?  Or at least a camera and tripod?”

Pulling out his mobile phone, Merlin asked, “Can’t we just use this?”

“A selfie?”  Arthur scoffed.  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Merlin reached out to tug on Arthur’s sleeve.  “Just get over here.” They stood in front of the portraits bearing their names, and Merlin shifted them both around trying to get the portraits and their faces to show on his mobile screen.

“No, like this...”  Merlin pushed Arthur to one side and then the other.  “Just… over here…” He moved them both back near the wall and then forward to the table again.  “Wait, lean this way... “

Arthur started laughing at all of Merlin’s fussing, and with each move, he laughed harder until he was nearly doubled over.  Merlin pouted a little, and Arthur calmed down and seemed to take pity on him. He took the phone from Merlin’s hand and wrapped his arm around Merlin’s shoulder, tugging him close and guiding them both two steps to the right so the portraits could mostly be seen over Merlin’s left shoulder.

Merlin was blocking a small portion of the portrait of King Arthur, so he leaned in and rested his head on Arthur’s shoulder.  They both smiled at the contact, and Arthur snapped the photo in that moment. He gave Merlin’s shoulder a last squeeze and then tapped the screen to show the photo they had just taken.  Merlin’s heart leapt. Their expressions were almost affectionate.

Arthur chuckled.  “Well, I’m not sure it’s appropriate for the website, but it’s not a bad picture, is it?”

Before Merlin could respond, Arthur hit the share arrow and texted the photo to himself.  He handed Merlin’s phone back with a sheepish smile, and then clapped Merlin on the shoulder.  “What do you say? Shall we find out if Mister Fu’s will deliver to the castle?”

“Are we going to eat right here on the round table?”  Merlin snickered. He knew there were other rooms in the castle they hadn’t set up as escape rooms where they could eat instead, but he found the idea of spreading Chinese takeaway over the symbol of knightly cooperation and unity highly amusing.

Arthur’s eyes twinkled, and he shook his head.  “Not down here. I thought we might try out my new dining room.  Or maybe just relax and eat at the coffee table in front of the telly.”

Taken aback by the mention of a dining room and a television in the castle, Merlin could only manage a confused, “What?”

“Come see.”

Arthur led Merlin down the corridor to the small stairway at the end that led all the way to the third floor of the castle.  The rooms on that floor were smaller and the furnishings more plain than those on the second floor, and were most likely meant to be servant’s quarters, so Arthur’s grandfather or whoever had dressed the rooms on the first and second floors hadn’t put much effort into these rooms.  Since the rooms didn’t fit the medieval theme, Merlin and Arthur had decided not to include the third floor as part of their escape rooms.

When Arthur opened the stairway door, however, Merlin could see a big change from what he remembered from their early explorations of the castle.  Some walls had been removed so they now stepped into an open plan living room and dining room with modern furniture. It looked warm and welcoming, in complete contrast to the dramatic feel of the rooms downstairs.

“What is this?”  Merlin looked around the room and then back at Arthur, shocked.

“My new apartment.”  Arthur slid past Merlin and casually tossed his keys onto a side table before pulling out his mobile.  “You want your usual? Mongolian Chicken?”

Merlin stared at Arthur, still in a state of shock.  “My usual?”

“Well, we’ve had Chinese together several times, and you always order Mongolian Chicken, so I assume it’s your usual order.  Did you want something different?”

Arthur’s casual discussion of Chinese takeaway as they stood in an apartment Merlin had no idea even existed suddenly angered Merlin.

“Arthur, would you shut up about the chicken for a minute!” he almost shouted.  “What do you mean this is your new apartment? When did you do this? And how? And why?”

“Well, I was supposed to sign a new lease on my flat last month, but it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t need it anymore.  Why should I continue to pay rent on a one bedroom flat with no view and noisy neighbours, when I could live in a gorgeous castle for free?”  Arthur waved his arm toward the windows overlooking the now beautifully landscaped garden in front of the castle. “Since we weren’t going to use the third floor anyway, I hired my own contractors to remodel, and then I came out here every weekend to fix it up.”

Merlin looked around the room, incredulous that Arthur had accomplished all of this without his knowledge, even as they worked on the escape rooms downstairs.

“I had the apartment set up with its own connection to the city utilities, so I could keep separate the expenses for the business and for my home, although, have you noticed that the electric bill for the castle is always shockingly low?”

Yes, Merlin had noticed, and he kept meaning to bring it up with Arthur.  “I know. It’s weird, right? Almost like the castle has its own hidden power source.”

Merlin found he didn’t much want to delve into investigating the issue, and apparently, Arthur felt the same way, because he just sort of shrugged and moved on to talking about searching through estate sales to find furniture.  As Arthur gave Merlin a tour of each of the new rooms, his face glowed, and Merlin could tell that he was proud of setting up his own living quarters atop the castle.

“So, this is the spare room,” Arthur said, chewing his bottom lip and glancing at Merlin in an uncharacteristically self-conscious manner.

“Another one?”  Merlin motioned back down the hallway toward the room Arthur had just shown him.

Arthur gave a half-shrug.  “Well, that one’s more of a guest room.”

“Planning to have a lot of guests, are you?”  Merlin entered the room and looked around. There was a bed and a dresser, but the room was otherwise empty.  “I guess you haven’t had a chance to decorate this one yet.”

Arthur took a deep breath and flashed a dazzling smile.  “I was waiting to see if this will actually be a guest room, or if it’ll have its own occupant.”

He was still grinning at Merlin, who was confused for a moment until Arthur’s meaning finally sunk in.  “Wait... do you mean me?” he asked, touching his chest. Did Arthur want him to move in? For the two of them to be flatmates?

Arthur shrugged.  “Only if you want to.  I wouldn’t charge you rent, since I’m not paying any myself.  So, even if the escape room doesn’t make us any money for a while, we wouldn’t have many expenses.”  He rubbed one hand through his hair. “Besides, I’m tired of living alone. I tend to spend way too much time working if I know I’m just going home to an empty flat.  And we get along so well…” He smiled again, and Merlin couldn’t help returning it. “It might be fun. What do you think?”

Merlin didn’t even have to think about his answer.  “I’d love to live here!”

Arthur’s nervousness disappeared at once, and he clapped Merlin on the shoulder, laughing.  “Excellent! I didn’t even show you the best part of the apartment yet.”

He grabbed Merlin’s wrist and pulled him across the hall, throwing open the door and shoving him inside.  Merlin’s heart leapt and he joined Arthur in his laughter. A small, round table sat in the middle of the room surrounded by comfortable looking chairs.  One corner contained a small bar, complete with a mini-fridge. But the best part was the far wall. It was completely lined with shelves, already half full of board games.

“It’s a game room!” Merlin exclaimed through his laughter.

“It’s a game room.”  Arthur nodded, grinning.

“When can I move in?”

  
  


Two weeks later, Merlin and Arthur sat in the office beside the lobby, waiting for their friends to arrive for a run-through.  They had both moved in upstairs. Although Merlin still had two months left on the lease of his old flat, he decided he wanted to get settled in their new apartment before they officially opened the escape room.

He was enjoying living with Arthur, although the first time he’d seen him sitting at the kitchen counter, eating toast in his pyjama bottoms with no shirt on and with tousled bed-head, Merlin had to remind himself to breathe.

Merlin was both nervous and excited for the run-through, and evidently, Arthur felt the same.  His leg jiggled up and down beside Merlin. “I’m starting to worry that we’ve made the escape room too difficult. These guys are pretty good at puzzles and following a logical path, so if they don’t escape tonight, what will we do?  Will we have to re-do the whole game to dumb it down? We want at least a twenty percent success rate, or no one’s going to want to come.”

“Don’t borrow trouble, Arthur.”  Merlin chuckled. “Let’s see how they do first.  For all we know, they’ll escape within the first hour.”  Arthur’s eyes cut toward him, sceptical, but Merlin just smiled back.  “Then you’ll have to let me add back in some of the more ambitious puzzles I came up with.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows.  “Ambitious?” He shook his head.  “I think you mean laborious. Fastidious.  Gruelling. Perhaps even painful.”

“What did you do?  Swallow a thesaurus?”

“Even if I absorbed a thesaurus, three maths textbooks and a complete set of encyclopaedias, I wouldn’t be able follow the baffling logic of some of the puzzles you suggested, Merlin.”

Merlin leaned back in his chair, thoroughly enjoying ribbing Arthur.  “That’s true. I’m not sure any amount of preparation would help you get past that major hindrance that sits atop your shoulders.”

Before Merlin was even aware Arthur was moving, Arthur had flung one arm around him, binding him in a headlock.  He rubbed his knuckles into Merlin’s scalp, although he was clearly holding back, as Merlin felt more ticklish than pained.  “Hindrance? Am I hindered now, Merlin? I’d rather be a little slow at puzzles than have such pitifully slow reflexes.”

They were both giggling as Arthur continued to tug Merlin toward him until he was almost falling out of his chair into Arthur’s lap, but then the front door opened and Arthur released Merlin and stood, pulling Merlin to his feet as Gwaine, Percy and Elyan stepped through the door.

“Merlin!  Arthur!” Gwaine boomed, his arms thrown wide.  “It’s been ages!” He cocked his head to the side, waved his hand up and down, indicating Merlin and Arthur’s appearance.  “You look a bit dishevelled. Are we interrupting something? We could take a walk around the castle. Give you two a minute to finish up—I mean, freshen up?”

Merlin could feel his face turning red as he started to stammer, “No, no… that’s not…”  but fortunately Arthur was far more articulate than he.

“Our first guests!  Excellent! Welcome to Camelot Escapes.  Merlin and I appreciate you coming to help us with this test run.  I’m confident that, in spite of our friendship, you lot will hold nothing back in letting us know where we can make improvements.”  He raised his eyebrows at Gwaine, almost daring him to continue his teasing.

Before Gwaine could respond, however, the door opened and Gwen and her husband, Lance, walked in, with Morgana behind them.

“Arthur!”  Gwen bounded up to him to give him a hug.  “So good to see you again! I’m glad Merlin was able to track you down.  You disappeared after uni.”

Arthur looked at Merlin, confused.  “I disappeared?”

“She means you aren’t on Instagram or Facebook or anything.”  Merlin grinned as Gwen pulled him into a hug as well.

“Exactly,” Gwen said, walking across to greet Percy, Gwaine and her brother.  “The rest of us keep up, at least superficially. I knew when Percy got a new teaching job.  I knew Merlin was switching careers.” She looked at Gwaine with a mischievous grin. “And I know Gwaine dropped his toothbrush yesterday, and it got stuck in the tub drain, standing straight upright.”

“Come on!”  He threw his arms out.  “That was perfection. It was like magic!”

“Oh yes, I’m certain sorcery was involved.”  She snickered. “I’m just saying… you post a lot.”  She over-enunciated the last two words for emphasis.

Gwaine tossed his head so his hair flung over his shoulder.  “You wish you had such interesting things to post about.”

Merlin felt Arthur tense up beside him, and he realised he must be remembering twenty-year-old Gwaine from game night, who occasionally took his teasing too far and offended people.  Luckily, Gwen simply laughed off Gwaine’s swagger.

“No, I understand you can’t really post about your job, so dinner plates and toothbrushes are what we get!”  Her tone softened as she asked, “How are things at work?”

Some of the twinkle left Gwaine’s eyes, but his smile didn’t totally disappear.  “Oh, you know. There’s good days and bad days, but overall, I feel like I’m doing some good.  Several of my kids are now able to stay in school without intervention, so that’s progress.”

“That’s fantastic,” Percy said, clapping Gwaine on the shoulder.

Arthur looked at Merlin, eyebrows raised, but Merlin himself didn’t know what Gwaine was talking about.  He’d been so busy lately, he hadn’t spent much time on social media, either. The last he’d heard, Gwaine was working in the HR department of a large bank.  Before he could ask any questions, however, Morgana spoke up.

“So what is it you do, Gwaine?”

“I work for a non-profit that helps refugees and asylum-seekers.  I work with the children’s therapy services, providing counselling for these kids who’ve been through so much.  They’ve seen such violence, lost their homes, and travelled so far. And unfortunately, a lot of them have been abused.”  He shook his head with sadness. “But we provide counselling, and art and drama therapy, and, you know, after a while, we start to see the light in their eyes again, and then they’re able to deal with some of the things they’ve been through, and start to live a healthier life.”

Merlin was surprised.  He had no idea Gwaine had been working with refugee children, and he was so impressed, he didn’t know how to respond other than an awed, “Wow.”

Once again, Arthur was far more eloquent.  “That sounds like such a challenging job. I don’t imagine there are many who would take that on.  I’m sure those children appreciate having you in their lives.”

Gwaine gave Arthur a grateful nod before turning to Morgana.  “I don’t think we’ve actually met. You’re Arthur’s sister, aren’t you?”

“Oh, sorry.  I forgot most of you don’t know Morgana.”  Arthur jumped in to make introductions all around, and then he added, “Her job isn’t nearly as altruistic as yours, Gwaine.”  He smirked in Morgana’s direction. “She’s a solicitor who protects big business from the little guy.”

Morgana returned Arthur’s smirk.  “Actually, little brother, you’ve been so busy with your own project these last few months, you missed some fairly major changes in my life.  I quit my job, and Morgause and I started our own firm, providing low-cost legal services to those in need. Our goal is to make sure everyone—not just the wealthy and big businesses—have equal access to justice.”

Arthur said nothing.  He stood, blinking, mouth slightly agape.

“Merlin?”  Morgana said, gently.  “You might want to grab Arthur’s arm to catch him before he faints from shock.”

Merlin didn’t think he would need to catch Arthur, although he was still staring at his sister, flabbergasted.  Merlin looked back at Morgana as a realisation sunk in. “So wait, does everyone have a job that involves helping others?  Morgana started a non-profit law office. Percy’s a teacher. Gwaine works with refugee children. Lance is a nurse. Gwen’s an environmental engineer.  And Elyan, aren’t you a firefighter?”

Everyone nodded along with Merlin’s observation, and Arthur smiled, clearly impressed, until Morgana teased, “Well, fellas, it seems the two of you have the only career whose purpose is not to improve the lives of those around you.  Unless, of course, you think paying for an hour of entertainment leads to a better life?”

Merlin chuckled at her good-natured ribbing, but Arthur pursed his lips as he looked back at his sister thoughtfully.  Merlin wondered whether he was having second thoughts about their new business, now that he knew their friends were dedicating their lives to helping others.

Gwen seemed to sense Arthur’s discomfort as well, so she spoke up.  “Oh, I don’t know. I think escape rooms are more than just entertainment.  They encourage teamwork and problem solving. And I’m very curious about this all-night escape you’ve set up. Why don’t you tell us about it so we can get started?”

“Where did you get a massive round table?”

Merlin and Arthur exchanged a glance.  They had already decided they didn’t want to explain to everyone how the castle had mysteriously been restored and decorated with a medieval theme.  And frankly, the random presence of a round table large enough to seat ten had baffled them for weeks. So Arthur simply answered Elyan’s question with a vague, “estate sale,” and then quickly redirected everyone’s attention to the piece of parchment sitting on the table.

“You have all come to Camelot to prove your worthiness to be knights of the realm.  King Arthur regrets he could not be present for this trial, but he has left a letter to welcome you and get you started on your quest.”

Everyone chuckled slightly at the silly role-playing introduction, but Gwen walked over to the table, retrieved the letter, and began to read.

 

_ Welcome, candidates for knighthood.  Congratulations! You have passed the physical trials, but there is more to knighthood than sword fighting and jousting.  You must prove your ability to think quickly and work as part of a team. There is one final obstacle you must overcome to prove you are worthy to join the knights.  My trusted advisor, Merlin, and I have devised a series of tests to assess your problem solving and cooperative skills. Merlin has magically sealed the castle, and you must work together with your team to find a way out before first light.  _

_ To prepare for the challenge ahead, I suggest you look to the knights who came before for inspiration.  Each one brings a unique and necessary strength to the knighthood. You have eight hours to complete the challenge and prove you are worthy to join the Round Table. _

_ I wish you well as you begin this final trial, and I look forward to welcoming you into the noble knights of Camelot. _

_ Regards, _

_ King Arthur of Camelot _

 

“Nice.”  Percy turned his attention from Gwen to Merlin and Arthur.  “So, where do we start?”

Merlin grinned.  “You’ve already started.”

“You mean you’re not even going to give us a hint to get us going?” Gwen asked, turning the letter over in her hand to look at the back, which was blank.

Arthur rocked back on his heels with a smug chuckle.  “Hey, normally we wouldn’t even be in the room with you.  We’d be back in the office watching you on the monitors. We’re only here because you’re our friends.”  He gave a half shrug. “And because we need to take notes on what works and what may need tweaking. But we can’t help you out at all.”

“Okay, well, I guess we just look around for some sort of clue.”  Gwaine went over to the sideboard along the back wall and started tugging on locked drawers.  None opened. “Or is there anything that seems out of place?”

The others started moving about the room, sliding their hands along surfaces and leaning in to examine the carvings in the wood panelling.  But Lance went straight for the letter Gwen had dropped back on the table.

“I think we already have the first clue,” he said, eyes scanning the letter.  “It says we should look to the knights who came before for inspiration, so maybe there’s something in the portraits of knights on the wall over here.”

Merlin and Arthur exchanged a pleased glance.  They had hoped the first clue in the letter wasn’t too subtle.

“Ah, good thinking, Sir Lancelot.  Although, you probably only thought of that because you were so excited there’s a portrait of you on the wall,” Gwaine teased as he pointed to the portrait of Sir Lancelot that in no way resembled Lance.

“Huh.”  Elyan quirked his head to the side as he walked toward wall where the portraits of knights hung.  “I’m here, too.” He pointed to the painting of an older blond gentleman. “Totally whitewashed me, but whatever.”  He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

Percy followed Elyan along the portrait wall.  “Actually, we’re all here in some form.” He touched the frame of each picture as he walked.  “Elyan, Lancelot, Percivale, Gawain.”

“And don’t forget Merlin and Arthur over here.”  Lance crossed to the opposite wall. “And look…” He indicated the women whose images hung alongside Merlin and Arthur.  “Gwen… Guinevere. Morgana… Morgan Le Fay.”

Merlin felt chills run up his arms.  How had he not noticed that before?

“Is that why you invited us instead of some of your other friends, like Will or George?”  Gwen asked.

Arthur looked at Merlin, wide-eyed, clearly as mystified as he was.  “Honestly, I hadn’t even made that connection.”

As the others chuckled and mocked them, Merlin sidled over to Arthur.  “How? I mean, really. How did we never notice this name thing? We knew Merlin and Arthur were there, but why did we only invite these particular friends?”

Shaking his head, Arthur shrugged.  “I don’t know. I guess it’s just one of those things.”  And without another word on the subject, he moved closer to their friends, who were now gathered along the wall, examining the portraits of the knights.

Merlin hesitated before joining them.  The feeling he had about the names of the Arthurian characters matching up with the names of his friends was similar to the feelings he had experienced regarding the way the castle had been restored and remodelled in a medieval style, and how it didn’t seem to use much electricity.  He knew there was something off about all these things, but it was like there was a little voice in his head telling him not to think too hard about it. Like if he dug in to investigate, he would upset the balance of this perfect world he had built with Arthur, and everything would be spoiled.  So even though his usual instinct was to analyse every aspect of a puzzle put before him, Merlin simply chose to follow Arthur’s lead, shrug this new mystery off, and go watch his friends solve their escape room.

“Okay,” Elyan said as he pointed to one of the paintings.  “Percivale is holding a book, which is an odd thing for a knight to be holding, so that has to be significant.”  He leaned closer to read the spine of the book in the portrait. “It’s partway covered up, and the title is worn, but I can definitely make out the word _Potions_.”

Gwaine leaned over Elyan’s shoulder and agreed.  “That probably means we need to go to Merlin’s Magical Laboratory.  Remember? From the floorplan of the castle hanging in the entry hall?”

“There was a floorplan of the castle in the entry hall?”  Elyan turned to gape at Gwaine.

“Yeah!”  He nodded enthusiastically.  “I would have taken a picture of it to use as a reference throughout the night, but these losers took away our phones.”

Merlin threw his hands up in defence, but Arthur just laughed.  “Can’t have you cheating by looking up the answers to our puzzles.  And half the fun of the challenge is pretending you’re knights, so you have to run about the castle, instead of planting one person in each room and Facetiming solutions to each other.”

“Yeah, yeah.”  Gwaine waved one hand at Arthur before addressing Elyan again, “Anyway, it showed the location of all their other escape rooms.  The Royal Chambers are upstairs; the Kitchen and the Dungeon are downstairs; and Merlin’s Magical Laboratory is just down the hall from the Council Room.”  He indicated the room they were in, and Elyan nodded, impressed. Gwaine started toward the door. “So, should we head to Merlin’s lab to look for that book?”

“Wait.  Before we start _running about the castle_ ,” Morgana interjected, tossing an amused smirk in Arthur’s direction, “We should figure out the clues in the rest of the portraits.  The letter said each knight brings a necessary strength to the table, so that probably means there’s a clue in each of these four paintings.”

Merlin bit back a smile.  He was pleased that their friends were picking up the clues he and Arthur had put into the letter.  Hopefully that meant the whole escape room was, in fact, well-designed and they wouldn’t need to make many changes.

“Lancelot is looking sideways, where the others are all facing forward,” Gwen said.  “Do you think that’s significant?”

As Lance moved to join Gwen in front of Sir Lancelot, Percy pointed out that Sir Elyan’s arms were crossed with his fingers atop each arm showing three on one hand and four on the other.  Gwaine and Morgana examined Gawain’s portrait and started arguing about whether certain details might be significant.

“All the other knights have a sword, and I’m holding a spear.  I’ll bet you all the cash in my pockets there’s a spear on the wall somewhere in this castle that matches this one.  It’s probably hanging at an angle and points to the door of a secret passage or something.”

Merlin suppressed a laugh.  Poor Gwaine was so adamant, and it _was_ a good thought, but unfortunately he was wrong.  The spear had no significance at all. Arthur caught his eye, and they shared an amused smile.  He slid over to stand next to Merlin as Morgana took a deep breath and switched into lawyer mode to demolish Gwaine’s argument.

“Your reasoning that the spear is significant is based on the notion that the rest of the knights have swords, and Sir Gawain’s weapon is the odd one out.  However, upon closer inspection, you will notice that, while Lancelot is indeed holding a sword, Elyan’s belt is equipped with both a sword and a dagger, and the hilt of what could either be a sword or a dagger is barely visible in the sheath on Percivale’s belt.”

“It’s a sword!  Come on!” Gwaine argued.

“It is most likely a sword, but we cannot be certain, so—“

“Fine!”  Gwaine threw his hands up.  “What do you think the clue in this painting is, Counsellor?”

“The apple tree,” Morgana answered, her tone deliberately even.

Gwaine leaned closer.  “What apple tree?”

“It’s there in the background, over his shoulder.”  Morgana pointed carefully without touching the painting.

After a moment of silence, Gwaine responded with a simple, “So it is.”  He turned to face Morgana, unabashed. “To the kitchen, then?”

“That’s where I’d start,” she said, with no hint of smugness in her tone.

Arthur leaned in and whispered to Merlin, “That was weird.  I’ve never known Morgana not to gloat when she’s been proven right.”

Merlin turned to whisper back, “They don’t actually know she’s right, yet.”

But Arthur shook his head.  “She knows.”

And Merlin snorted.  He would have loved to see Arthur and his sister growing up together.  He wondered if their childhood consisted of one long, unbroken argument.

“Also,” Arthur’s breath tickled his ear again.  “Why didn’t we think to hang a spear on the wall pointing at a hidden door?  That would have been brilliant!”

Before Merlin could respond, Gwen bounded over to pull Gwaine and Morgana to re-join the others.  “We think we’ve figured out one of the clues. That potions book that Sir Percivale is holding is probably in Merlin’s laboratory, and we think we need to check out page 34, because of Sir Elyan.”  She crossed her arms, imitating Elyan’s position in the painting and wiggled her fingers to emphasize the numbers three and four.

“That sounds like a reasonable assumption,” Morgana said, nodding along.  “Gwaine and I decided we need to find an apple in the kitchen, based on his painting.”

“Should we split up and start looking for the next clues, then?”  Gwaine asked, motioning for Morgana to join him on his mini-quest.

Arthur glanced at Merlin, slight concern furrowing his face, and Merlin thought at first that he was worried that their friends had not yet deciphered the last clue from the knights’ portraits, but as Arthur’s eyes followed Gwaine, Merlin chuckled.  Arthur was not concerned about their testers missing an important clue. He was concerned about Gwaine going off alone with his sister. Gwaine had a reputation for flirting with anyone with a pulse, although Merlin suspected Morgana could more than hold her own with Gwaine.

The others agreed that splitting up made sense, so Gwaine and Morgana headed for the kitchen.  The rest of the group started toward the door when Percy suddenly said, “Lancelot. We forgot Lancelot.”

Gwen and Elyan looked confused for a moment, glancing toward Lance, but Percy was pointing at the painting of Sir Lancelot.  “He’s looking at something. Maybe this torch on the wall? Does its sconce look a little loose?”

Everyone moved closer. When Percy reached up and tugged slightly on the metal sconce, it immediately pulled away from the wall just a few inches, and a click sounded across the room.

Gwen spun around.  “A drawer opened!” She rushed toward the side table where the middle drawer had popped open.  “Keys!” She pulled a ring of large, old-fashioned looking keys out of the drawer. “What do you think they open?”

Arthur glanced at Merlin with a small smirk.  They would find out soon enough when they discovered they couldn’t get into any of the other rooms in the castle without a key.

“How many keys are there?” Elyan asked.

Gwen counted.  “Four.”

“The Royal Chambers, the Kitchen, Merlin’s Laboratory and the Dungeon.”  Elyan held up a finger for each room he named. “That’s how we get into the rest of the rooms.”

Merlin raised his eyebrows in Arthur’s direction.  Clever Elyan.

“Ooh, I bet you’re right!”  Gwen shook the ring, making the keys clank against each other loudly.  “Well then, let’s get over to Merlin’s lab and unlock it, and then someone can run the keys down to Morgana and Gwaine.”

They hurried out of the Council Room to the magical laboratory.  Gwen unlocked the door and then passed the keys to Lance, who bounded back down the hall and disappeared down the stairwell.  As Gwen pushed the door open, Merlin’s shoulders tensed in excited anticipation. Merlin’s Magical Laboratory was the room he was most proud of.  The other rooms hadn’t required much decoration, due to the mysterious medieval-themed decor of the castle, but Merlin had designed and dressed this room himself.  Perhaps because the room bore his name, or perhaps because he had always enjoyed tales of wizardry and magic, Merlin felt the strongest connection with this lab. He had delighted in selecting the perfect cauldron and scouring craft shops for a variety of unique bottles and jars to fill with dried herbs and colourful liquids.

His friends gasped audibly as they entered the room, and a proud thrill radiated through Merlin’s chest.  Arthur reached for his hand and gave it a warm squeeze. He knew how much the lab meant to Merlin.

“Wow,” breathed Gwen, as she and the others looked wide-eyed around the room.  One wall was lined with shelves that held bottles and jars of all shapes and sizes, filled with potions ingredients from seeds, bark, and herbs to liquids of rich amber, bright green, and opalescent blue.  A large butcher’s block table stood in the centre of the room. Its thick, maple top was marred with nicks and stains, and a rusted cast iron cauldron sat in the middle, surrounded by a mortar and pestle, an empty test tube rack, two half-melted candles, and a wrinkled,  s-shaped item that looked suspiciously like a dried lizard tail.

As his friends admired his beloved lab, Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Dried herbs and flowers hung in bunches from the ceiling, filling the air with a sweet, earthy scent that always made him feel like he was home, although he couldn’t quite figure out why.  His home growing up had always smelled more like cinnamon and freshly baked bread, due to his mother’s love of baking.

Percy spoke up, breaking Merlin’s reverie as he called the others’ attention to the tall bookcase that stood against the back wall.  “Help me look for that potions book from the painting.”

Elyan joined him as Gwen continued to explore the room.  She squatted by the fireplace, running her fingers over the stones of the hearth, pressing here and prying there as if she were looking for a loose stone.

“Got it,” called Percy, and Gwen stood to join him and Elyan at the table, but before they could turn to page 34, Gwaine and Morgana burst into the room.

“The kitchen was locked,” Gwaine said, before stopping mid-step in front of the table.  “Whoa.” His eyes flitted from one side of the room to the other. “You guys really outdid yourselves here.  You should charge more for this room.” He gave Merlin a firm nod. “Seriously.”

“Wait, didn’t Lance find you with the keys?” Gwen asked.

Morgana shook her head.  “We didn’t see Lance. Did you find some keys?  Is that how you got in here?”

Percy set the potions book down on the table.  “Yeah, the last clue from the knights opened up a drawer by the Round Table, and we got a set of keys.  But Lance took them downstairs a minute ago to find you two.”

Gwaine glanced over his shoulder toward the door.  “We must have missed him.” He turned back, waving one hand.  “I’m sure he’ll come back here looking for us. What are you guys working on?  Did you find that book?”

They gathered around the table as Percy opened the book and discovered the ingredients list and instructions for brewing a sleeping draught.  He looked up. “So, do we actually have to make this potion?”

The others shrugged and looked blankly at one another, so Percy suggested, “Let’s at least look for the ingredients.”  He carried the book to the shelves and read the first ingredient from the page. “Four sprigs of lavender.”

Morgana spotted it right away.  “It’s here. There’s a purple test tube inside a jar labelled _Lavender._ ”  She lifted it out of the jar and tugged on the cork sealing the top.  “It’s stuck. I don’t think we’re actually supposed to make the potion.”  She rolled the test tube back and forth between her fingers, and then turned to Arthur.  “What are you going to do when someone drops one of these and there’s broken glass all over the floor?”

Arthur jutted out his chin.  “It’s polycarbonate. It won’t break.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and then motioned behind her at the shelves of bottles and jars.  “All these are polycarbonate?”

“The rest of them are glued to the shelf,” he replied, cocking his head to the side, obviously pleased with himself for thinking ahead and avoiding a potential lawsuit.

She simply nodded her approval and turned back to the others.  “Find any more?”

They quickly located all the ingredients listed for a sleeping draught.  Each one was in a different coloured test tube, and they quickly realised they were supposed to place the test tubes inside the rack on the table, as it had five holes, and there were five ingredients.  However, some tubes did not fit in the first hole they tried.

“Ah,” Elyan noted, pulling the potion book from Percy’s hands.  “I bet we have to put them into the rack in the order we’re supposed to add them to the draught. So, lavender, valerian root, honey, vanilla bean, and then the slug mucus.”

They placed the test tubes into the rack in the order Elyan had stated.  There was a brief confusion when Gwaine mixed up the honey and slug mucus, but they soon slid the correct tube into the last slot in the rack.  Immediately, a framed drawing of a blackcurrant plant swung away from the wall, revealing a shallow compartment that contained four blocks with patterns of dots on each side.

“Oh great.”  Gwaine moaned.  “I knew we’d have to solve one of Merlin’s impossible puzzles eventually.”

As they started to examine the blocks looking for any hint of how they might proceed, Gwen kept looking toward the door.  “Guys, I’m starting to get a little worried about Lance. Why hasn’t he come back yet?”

Merlin followed her gaze and then looked back at Arthur who pursed his lips with concern.  It shouldn’t have taken Lance this long to discover Gwaine and Morgana weren’t in the kitchen.  Or even to stop by the loo.

“Maybe he let himself into the kitchen, and he’s solving the puzzles there on his own,” Gwaine suggested, although he didn’t sound terribly sure of himself.

“I’m going to go look for him.”

Gwen strode to the door, and Elyan started to follow her.  “We’ll all go. That puzzle can wait.”

The group walked down to the basement level.  They checked the kitchen door, but it was still locked.  So was the door to the dungeon, and the armoury outside the dungeon was empty.  Lance was nowhere to be found.

“Let me run up to the second floor to see if he’s just exploring the castle.”  Gwaine jogged back to the stairwell.

Gwen paced nervously up and down the hall, while the others stood outside the locked kitchen door, chatting about where Merlin had found all the props to decorate the magical lab.  Occasionally, someone would glance over their shoulder toward the stairs, or at the hallway branching toward the armoury and dungeon. Only a minute or two passed, but Merlin could see that Gwen was getting more and more anxious.  When Gwaine returned, she craned her neck to look around behind him.

“You didn’t find him?”

Gwaine shook his head.  “I checked both floors and the restrooms as well.  Could he have gone outside to get something from the car?”

“Why would he do that without telling me where he was going?”  Her voice was beginning to quiver, so her brother placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Elyan turned to Merlin and Arthur.  “Are there any other rooms in the castle he could have gone into?”

Merlin was certain he and Arthur had locked all their storage closets and the rooms in the castle that weren’t part of the escape room.  And their third floor apartment was also locked. “There shouldn’t be any rooms he could get into besides the five escape rooms.”

“Oh wait!”  Morgana suddenly pointed at Arthur.  “There has to be another staircase.”

Arthur’s mouth dropped open and Merlin’s heart leapt as they realised what his sister was thinking.  “Yes! At the other end of the hall. It’s not original to the castle, and it’s not meant to be used for the escape room.  It’s just in case of fire, so it’s behind the emergency exit door.”

“Will an alarm sound if someone opens that door?”

Arthur indicated it would not, so Morgana continued, “Then let’s split up.  Some of us will use the regular stairs and some of us will use the emergency stairs, and we’ll check each floor.  Percy, you stay here and wait for us to come back. Gwaine, we’ll drop you off on the ground floor, and the rest of us will continue to the second floor.  That way, we’ll be sure we’re not just missing him as we all wander around the castle.”

They sprang into action, following her directions.  Merlin’s heart clenched when he saw Morgana take Gwen’s hand as they walked down the hall together.  He joined Arthur and Gwaine in the emergency stairwell, but as they made their way up each floor and still hadn’t found Lance, Merlin started to feel sick.  Before they caught up with Gwen, Morgana and Elyan, he caught Arthur’s hand and asked in a low voice, “Arthur, what is going on? Where could he be?”

Arthur squeezed his hand and shook his head.  “I don’t know. I wish we had set up our security cameras to record and not just show a live image.  And after this, I think we should add cameras in the hallways in addition to the ones in each room.” He caught sight of Morgana rounding the corner, heading toward them, so Arthur murmured quietly, “Maybe he did run back to his car, but it’s not like Lance to just take off without telling anyone.”

He swiftly lightened his tone for Gwen’s sake as they all met in front of the Royal Chambers.  “Well, unless Lance found a secret passage Merlin and I have not yet discovered, it doesn’t look like he’s in the castle, so let’s head back down to the office, and we can check to see if he went outside.”

Elyan jogged ahead to fetch Percy from the basement, and the rest of the group headed down the emergency stairs to the front office.  Arthur slipped into the office to check the outdoor security cameras, and Merlin went straight for the front door. When he tried to push it open, however, it wouldn’t budge.  He shoved harder, but it was locked. Outside the glass door, the security lights shone on the pathway and the bridge across the moat, but there was no sign of Lance.

“Arthur?”  he called over his shoulder.  “Did you lock this door?” Merlin pulled the key from his pocket, but when he tried it in the lock, it wouldn’t turn.

Arthur came out of the office, and Merlin’s palms went cold.  Arthur glanced at Gwen, pursing his lips. He was obviously trying to appear calm, but his eyes were filled with fear.

“None of the security cameras are working.  It’s just static. And all of our mobiles have no service.”

Gwen whimpered, and Morgana wrapped her arm around her shoulders, drawing her close.

Merlin’s stomach tensed and he could feel his breath quickening.  “This door is locked, and my key won’t work.” 

“Guys.”  Merlin jumped at the sound of Gwaine’s voice from the doorway to the main entry hall, and his heart dropped when he saw that Gwaine’s face was as white as ash.  “You have to come see this.”

They followed Gwaine into the Council Room where Percy and Elyan stood beside the round table staring at the wall.  They didn’t turn when Merlin and the others entered the room. As soon as they got close enough to see what their friends were looking at, Merlin’s knees nearly gave way beneath him.  He felt all the blood drain from his face as he stared at the portrait of Sir Lancelot.

The portrait had changed.  The background was the same, but the image no longer showed a long-haired knight in armour holding a sword.  The person in the picture was Lance. And he was wearing the same clothes he had worn that night.

“Why are you doing this?”  Merlin turned to see Gwen panting and on the verge of tears as she glared accusingly at him and Arthur.  “This isn’t funny, okay? Just go get Lance, and we’re going home.”

Merlin choked at the sight of the anger and betrayal in her eyes, but Arthur spoke for both of them.

“Gwen, I promise this isn’t us.”  He spoke slowly, emphasising each word.  “Merlin and I are just as shocked as you are.  We have no idea what is happening, but we’re going to figure it out.”

“How?”  Morgana’s tone was just as accusatory as Gwen’s.

“Well…  I mean... we could…”  Arthur was obviously shaken by the bizarre circumstances and by his sister’s ire as he stammered, pointing in first one direction and then another, until finally he looked at Merlin and grimaced, silently asking for help.

Arthur’s distress somehow cleared Merlin’s head, so he gave a firm nod.  “Right. I’ll go get our spare keys from the office, and we can open every room and every closet.  Arthur and I will check the service door in the back, and someone can check our apartment. Lance has got to be somewhere.  So we’ll just keep looking until we find him.”

Gwaine spoke up.  “That all would sound reasonable if we were just dealing with a missing mate. But, Merlin, how do you explain this painting?”

Merlin’s shoulders dropped, because, of course, he had no explanation for the painting.

“It seems to me,” Gwaine continued, “that we’re either dealing with an elaborate practical joke, which frankly, sounds more like my style than like Lance’s.  Or there’s someone else in the castle with us.”

Arthur, Percy and Elyan looked immediately at the door.  Morgana’s eyes rose toward the ceiling as if she thought she might hear footsteps.  Gwen started rocking back and forth, her forehead creasing as a tear slipped down her cheek.  The colour had not returned to Gwaine’s face as he stared at Merlin, unblinking.

“Well, then no one goes anywhere alone,” Merlin declared.  “Arthur, let’s go get those keys so we can start our search.”

“Not Arthur.”  Gwaine’s voice was firm.  “I’ll go with you.”

Merlin suddenly felt nauseous.  He couldn’t believe his friends didn’t trust him.  As he and Gwaine walked out of the room, he glanced at Arthur and found him looking equally crestfallen.  Gwaine was silent until they were in the office and Merlin pulled open the desk drawer where they kept their spare keys.

“I do believe you, Merlin.”

Merlin spun around to find Gwaine looking at him sadly.  “Even if you planned this as some crazy stunt, you’d have to be heartless to keep it up with poor Gwen so distraught.”

If Gwaine didn’t think Merlin was in on whatever was happening, did that mean he thought Arthur had orchestrated the whole thing?  “So you think Arthur--?”

“No, are you kidding?”  Gwaine chuckled. “Arthur’s an even bigger softie than you.  I just wanted to talk with you out of Gwen’s earshot. Listen,” he lowered his voice, but looked directly at Merlin, “you know Lance better than I do.  You mentioned he’s a nurse, and I know that nursing is a demanding profession that can sometimes take a toll on a person’s mental health and on their relationships.”

Merlin’s heart dropped as he realised what Gwaine was getting at.

“I just wanted to check with you to see if you thought he might have been looking for a way out.”

Shaking his head, Merlin felt confident in rejecting Gwaine’s theory outright.  “No, mate. Lance and Gwen are as solid as they come. They really support each other.  She would know if he was struggling, and she would have helped him to get help for it.”

“Good enough.”  Gwaine shrugged.  “I just had to check.”

Keys in hand, Merlin started back out to rejoin the others, and Gwaine followed.  “I’m sure we’ll find Lance soon and everything will work out. And later, you may want to have a little chat with Arthur.  He seemed down when he found out the rest of us are all working in sort of altruistic professions, and I’m afraid Morgana and I didn’t help with our teasing.  Give him a little reassurance, will you? Gwen and Lance aren’t the only couple who can be there to support one another.”

Merlin whipped around.  “Arthur and I aren’t a couple.”

“No?”  Gwaine raised his eyebrows as he continued past Merlin toward the Council Room.  “You could have fooled me.”

Ignoring the thrill that rose in his stomach at Gwaine’s words, Merlin focused his energy on the mystery at hand: discovering what happened to their friend, Lance.  The group decided to split up to continue their search. Elyan and Percy would check all the doors and windows that led outside to see if they could find a way out of the castle.  Morgana, Gwen and Gwaine would take one set of keys and search all the rooms and closets in the basement and on the ground floor. And Merlin and Arthur would do the same on the second floor and in their third floor apartment.

As they climbed the stairs, Arthur asked Merlin, “What did Gwaine say when you two went to get the keys?  Does he really think we’re behind this?”

“No, he said you’re a big old softie who would never hurt Gwen in a million years.”  Merlin gave Arthur a reassuring smile. “He was just doing his therapist duty and checking in on Lance’s mental health.”  Arthur heaved a deep sigh of relief, and Merlin continued, “I told him Lance was doing well and that I didn’t think he would do this to Gwen, either.”

They reached the second floor and started opening closets and searching through King Arthur’s and Queen Guinevere’s chambers, as well as the other rooms on the floor that were not being used as escape rooms.

“What do you think is happening, Merlin?  How did Lance just disappear, and that portrait...?  I mean, what the hell?”

A shiver ran down Merlin’s spine at the mention of Lance’s portrait.  “Yeah, that’s super eerie.” He didn’t have any idea what to say. It seemed most unlikely that someone had broken into the castle, kidnapped Lance, and replaced the painting of Sir Lancelot with a painting of Lance in the same pose, with the same sword, and the same background, but somehow wearing the exact outfit Lance was wearing tonight.

“Merlin?”

“Yeah?”

Arthur had stopped moving, and when he spoke again, his voice was hushed.  “This castle was a dilapidated mess for years, until we showed up and somehow it was in perfect condition.  The rooms were decorated in the ideal medieval style for a Camelot theme. The entire property uses no measurable electricity or water.  And now our friend disappears into a painting.”

Merlin’s forehead broke out into a cold sweat and his throat felt tight.  He knew what Arthur was getting at, but somehow, he still wanted to ignore all the signs.  He just wanted Arthur to stop talking.

“Merlin?” Arthur prompted him, but Merlin still could not speak.

Suddenly, they heard a scream from downstairs.  Arthur’s eyes went wide, and they both bolted out the door and down the steps.  They spotted Morgana dashing out of the Council Room, looking up and down the hallway.

“Arthur, get in here, now.”

They followed her into the room and found Gwaine sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around Gwen.  He raised his chin toward the portraits of the knights. Sir Percivale and Sir Elyan had now been replaced with their friends.  Merlin’s hand flew to his mouth to suppress the horrified moan bubbling up in his throat.

“No,” Arthur breathed out behind him.

“What is happening, Arthur?” Morgana sounded stern rather than frightened.  “I mean, really. If you are as clueless as you seem, then what the hell kind of place is this?  Is there some sort of gas in the air causing hallucinations? Do you have powerful enemies who could arrange such an elaborate hoax?  Are you and Merlin involved in some sort of cult that subjects you to hazing before initiation?”

“I don’t know what is happening, Morgana,” Arthur snapped.  “We’re not in a cult. I have no enemies. I don’t think we’re being drugged.  But I have no explanation for any of this, okay? And I’d appreciate it if everyone would stop making accusations against me and Merlin.”

Gwaine stood and walked slowly toward them with his hands out.  “Look, we’re all scared. Our friends are missing, and we don’t understand what is happening.  Emotions are running high, and I know we have all said things tonight we wish we hadn’t. Let’s all take a deep breath and focus on the fact that the five of us are still here, and we need to figure out who or what is taking our friends and family.”

Arthur and Morgana eyed one another uneasily as Gwaine spoke, but they seemed to realise that he was right, as they rolled their eyes, nodded their heads, and shrugged out a silent apology.  Probably the best anyone could hope for from such stubborn siblings.

Gwen finally spoke up, her voice trembling.  “Gwaine, what did you mean when you said _who or what_ is taking them?  Do you really think there’s something supernatural causing this?”

Merlin leaned onto the table and started drumming his fingers on the wood.

“At this point, we have to at least consider the possibility, don’t we?”

Gwaine’s tone was calm and resigned.  Merlin, however, felt anything but calm.  He pushed away from the table and started pacing.

Morgana scoffed.  “Are you seriously suggesting these disappearances are the result of magic?”

Merlin’s scalp suddenly felt itchy, and he ran his hands through his hair repeatedly as he made a second lap around the round table.  He barely registered that Morgana and Gwaine were still talking until Arthur stepped in front of him, putting both hands on his shoulders to stop his pacing.

“Merlin?  What’s wrong?”  He spoke quietly, so the others wouldn’t hear.

“I don’t know.”  Merlin wrung his hands.  “I don’t know.”

“Here.”  Arthur slid one hand down Merlin’s arm and interlocked their fingers.  The warm pressure felt good against Merlin’s itchy skin. “Come with me, and let’s talk.”

They walked hand in hand toward the door, but Gwen stood quickly and called out, panicked, “Where are you going?  Don’t leave!”

Arthur kept hold of Merlin’s hand as he turned to assure Gwen that they were only stepping into the hall, and they would make sure to stay in sight of the others at all times.  He led Merlin across the entry hall and motioned for him to sit on the floor, leaning against the wall so that they could still be seen from the Council Room, but they were not looking into it themselves.  Arthur wrapped his arm around Merlin’s shoulders and pressed his forehead to Merlin’s temple.

“I think I know what’s making you feel so agitated, so we’re not going to talk about the M word, okay?”  

Arthur’s voice was so gentle and his touch so tender that Merlin felt tears warm his eyes, but he didn’t want to let them fall, so he blinked a few times.

“It’s been a lot of fun seeing everyone again tonight.  Reminds me of all those nights playing games round your flat at uni.”  Arthur stroked his hand up and down Merlin’s arm, and Merlin breathed easier with each stroke.  “I had such a crush on you back then.” Arthur’s murmured confession somehow thrilled Merlin and calmed him at the same time.  “You were cute and funny and so clever. I wish I’d had the courage to ask you out, but…” Arthur huffed a tiny laugh, “...well, I wasn’t fully _out_ myself in those days.”

Arthur was silent for a few moments, so Merlin worked up the courage to ask, “What about now?”

“Oh, now I’m completely out.”

Merlin turned his head to look into Arthur’s eyes.  “No, I mean—”

“I know what you meant.”  Arthur smiled, and his eyes twinkled.  “Funny Merlin. How could you not know how I feel about you?  I asked you to move in with me, for crying out loud.”

Merlin licked his lips involuntarily.  “I thought that was just a way to save money while our business got off the ground.”

“Nah.” Arthur’s lips curled further into a crooked grin.  “I used saving money as an excuse, when really, I just wanted to see what this gorgeous hair looks like fresh out of the shower.”  He reached up and ran his hand through Merlin’s hair, and Merlin couldn’t help closing his eyes and leaning into his touch. Arthur purred into his ear, “You have no idea how hard it’s been to keep my hands off you.”

Merlin let out a breathy moan and reached out to put his own hand on the back of Arthur’s neck.

“Can I assume from your reaction that you’ve been feeling the same way?”

“Oh yeah,” Merlin huffed, his eyes flying open to meet Arthur’s once again.

Arthur was still smiling broadly, as he rested his forehead against Merlin’s.  “So, can I kiss you now?”

“Please.”

The word was hardly out of Merlin’s mouth before Arthur tilted his head down and pressed his lips to Merlin’s.  He pulled back after the brief touch and raised his eyebrows in question before he went back for more, but this time Merlin pressed forward and captured Arthur’s lips between his own.  They shared sweet kisses intermingled with contented sighs as their hands brushed gently against the skin of each other’s cheeks, jaws, and necks.

After a couple of minutes, Merlin pulled back and ducked his head down with a giggle.  “You’re not just doing this to calm me down, are you?” He peered up, already knowing the answer, but needing the reassurance, nevertheless.

“Absolutely not.”  Arthur held his gaze briefly, but then his smile faltered.  “Although I do think we need to take some time to…” His eyes cut away, unfocused, as he searched for the right words, but soon he met Merlin’s gaze with an inspired smile.  “We need to work together to tackle the puzzle before us.”

Merlin braced himself for the skin-crawling agitation to return, but this time it didn’t.  Instead, he felt a warmth spreading in his belly and even slight excitement at the thought of having a new puzzle to solve.  He looked up at the smiling face before him and felt a surge of affection. Arthur knew him so well. He knew Merlin couldn’t resist a puzzle.  So Merlin pushed up from the floor and then reached out to pull Arthur to his feet as well. He kept hold of Arthur’s hand and leaned in for another kiss before whispering a quick, “thank you,” and then leading Arthur back into the Council Room to rejoin their friends.

“Are you feeling better, Merlin?”  Morgana’s face was all innocence, but Gwaine’s snort at her question let Merlin know that his and Arthur’s first kiss had had spectators.

Though he was slightly mortified at that realisation, he managed to keep a straight face as he said, “Yes, I am.  Thank you for asking.”

Instead of waiting for her response, Merlin walked up to Gwen, who had pulled out one of the chairs from the round table and sat staring at the portraits of her husband, brother and friend.  “We’ll get them back, Gwen. I promise.”

She raised her eyebrows, clearly sceptical, and sighed.  “How?”

They needed to go over all the facts, so they could begin putting the pieces together.  “Turn your chair around.” He pulled out the chair beside her and motioned for the others to join them.  They each took a seat at the round table, and Merlin began, “We all saw Lance start down the stairs to the basement, but Morgana, you and Gwaine never saw him downstairs.  After you left us here in the Council Room, did you go straight to the kitchen?”

“We stopped in the entry hall first to check the floorplan, but then yes, we used the main staircase and went straight to the kitchen.  We discovered it was locked, so Gwaine suggested we look around the basement to see if another room was unlocked and to examine everything on the walls:  paintings, swords, sconces, etc.”

Merlin nodded thoughtfully.  “Did you stay together the whole time, or did you split up?”

Gwaine smirked.  “We stayed together, because I was having too much fun trying to drive her crazy.”

Studiously ignoring him, Morgana continued, “We found the armoury on the way to the dungeon and discovered the battle plan challenge that was hanging on the wall.  Well, I quickly made the connection to a chess board—”

“She did!” Gwaine interjected.  “Just one glance, and she started rearranging the shields on the opposite wall.  She might be a better puzzle solver than even you, Merlin.”

Merlin bristled a bit at that comparison, but fortunately Morgana did not take the opportunity to gloat.  “When I slid the last shield into place, we heard a chinking sound inside the dungeon, as if a door had been released, but of course, we couldn’t get in, so we decided to go looking for the rest of you to find out if there was something else we needed to solve first to unlock the rooms downstairs.”

Biting her lip, Gwen said, “Lance could have gone to the kitchen while you were in the armoury, and you wouldn’t have seen him.”  She looked over at Merlin. “So we still don’t know if he was taken from the stairwell or the hallway, or even if he let himself into the kitchen and someone else locked the door behind him.”

Unfortunately, she was right.  Merlin sighed. He had hoped Gwaine and Morgana might be able to help them pinpoint the exact time or location of Lance’s disappearance, but they knew nothing more than they did before.

“But the way we have it set up down there, the armoury isn’t that far from the kitchen.  Yes, it’s around a corner, but still—” Arthur traced a mental image of the basement floorplan onto the table with his index finger as he spoke.  “I think that if there had been a scuffle or if Lance had called out at all, you would have heard.”

“He could have been knocked out.”  Gwaine glanced sidelong at Gwen and cringed.  “Sorry. Or he could have gone along willingly.  Or,” he stared pointedly at the painting that now featured Lance, “if we are willing to suspend our disbelief, he might simply have vanished without a sound.”

Merlin felt a hint of irritation start to crawl along his skin, but then Arthur reached over and placed his hand on Merlin’s knee, and that simple touch calmed him enough that he could actually consider Gwaine’s theory.  He had to admit to himself that his body’s odd reaction every time the subject of magic was mentioned might even be the result of some supernatural force, though he had no idea why it was only affecting him and not the others.

_ Your name is Merlin. _  A tiny voice whispered secretly at the back of his mind, and he glanced up at the portrait of the ancient sorcerer, but he didn’t have time to follow that train of thought, because Morgana had moved on to analysing the disappearance of Percy and Elyan.

“When we all left this room, we three went downstairs immediately.  Arthur, you and Merlin went up via the same stairwell. And since you told Percy and Elyan there weren’t any doors or windows to the outside in the basement, they stayed on this floor to check.  I have no idea where they started. Does anyone else? Did anyone see or hear any hint of them after we parted ways?” Everyone shook their heads, and she continued, “We did specify that no one should go off on their own, but we have no way of knowing whether they followed that suggestion.”

“We also have no way of knowing whether they actually did find a door or window unlocked.  They might have gone outside themselves,” Gwaine pointed out.

Arthur narrowed his eyes.  “That’s a good point. If we assume that there is in fact _no such thing as magic,_ ” he gave Merlin a slight smile, “then Percy and Elyan might have gone outside.  And Lance might have as well.”

“He wouldn’t,” Gwen said emphatically.  “Not without telling me.”

Arthur reached across toward Gwen and placed his hand flat on the table to stress his point.  “I know he wouldn’t just leave, but maybe when he didn’t find Gwaine and Morgana at the kitchen, he came back up the stairs, or even used the emergency stairs, and he might have seen something outside that he wanted to investigate.  Perhaps he saw a prowler or even a fire. Something that needed immediate attention. So he went out the front door and it accidently locked behind him… and then the lock broke… and he couldn’t find a way in? Or a window to knock on?”  Arthur trailed off, seeing the flaws in his logic.

“And then someone decided to help by putting a missing persons painting on the wall?”  Gwaine’s hand shot out toward the portraits. “Admit it, mate. Magic is the only rational explanation here.”

Arthur squeezed Merlin’s knee, but Merlin wasn’t sure if that was to reassure him again, or because he was feeling frustrated with Gwaine.

“Maybe we should finish Percy and Elyan’s task and check all the doors and windows anyway,” Gwen said, sitting upright.  “Just in case?”

Morgana stood.  “I think that is an excellent idea.  However, I need to visit the loo first.”

“So do I.”  Gwen laughed.  “But I was just going to hold it rather than split up again.”

Standing up, Gwaine said, “I’ll escort you both to the restroom, and if you wouldn’t mind terribly, I’ll join you in the ladies?  I promise to avert my eyes.”

They laughed, but agreed heartily, and Morgana turned to instruct Arthur.  “You two stay here, and don’t take your eyes off our paintings.” She chuckled again, but this time it sounded uneasy.

Arthur snorted.  “If some magical force wants to take you, do you really think me staring at your picture is going to stop it?”

“Probably not,” she said, “but as it’s not actually a photo of me, it shouldn’t give you too much pain to stare at.”

As they walked away, Merlin asked Arthur, “Their paintings are on opposite walls.  Who’s watching which painting? And, what if people disappear when no one is looking at them?  I don’t want to take my eyes off of you, either.”

Of course, Arthur had a solution.  “We’ll link our arms. Maybe if we’re touching it won’t be possible for one of us to vanish.  You watch the knights and I’ll watch us and the girls.” He slid his arm along Merlin’s and hooked their elbows together, and then they turned away to stare at paintings.

After a few moments of silence, Merlin snorted.  “This is possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever done.”

He could feel Arthur nodding.  “Well, I won’t argue with that.”

“What will we do if one of the pictures changes right before our eyes?”  A chill ran down Merlin’s spine at the thought.

Arthur was quiet, but Merlin waited patiently, a smile spreading across his face.  Finally, something familiar on this horror of a night. Merlin was used to Arthur’s silences as he worked out the details of a puzzling situation.

“I guess we’ll change our worldview, and proceed from that new perspective.  I have no doubt that you are just as capable of solving magical mysteries as you are at solving every other type of complicated puzzle.”

Merlin got a sudden flash of a lifetime of Arthur’s unfailing love and support—mixed with gentle banter and teasing, of course—that was as powerful as any of the other supposedly magical sensations he had experienced tonight. He wanted that life.  He wanted that life with Arthur even more than he was afraid of whatever they might face in their search for their friends.

He squeezed their arms together and tilted his head back to bump against Arthur’s.  “You do realise that if we get through this and get everyone back, I’m going to have to join you in your bed.”

Arthur snorted, and Merlin suddenly heard the double meaning in his words.  “Oh, no. That’s not—” he cringed and had to be careful not to look away from Sir Gawain as he stumbled over his words.  “I only meant that I won’t want to let you out of my sight. I’d be afraid of you disappearing, and I don’t think I could handle that.”  He paused and when Arthur didn’t respond right away, his stomach tightened. “I wasn’t saying we should rush into anything.”

Then Merlin felt Arthur’s shoulder shaking against his.  “Wait. Are you laughing at me?”

“I wish I could turn my head to kiss you right now, Merlin.  You are just too adorable.”

“Shut up.”  Merlin elbowed Arthur in the ribs, but he couldn’t help smiling.

They sat in silence for a few moments and when Arthur spoke again, his tone was more serious.  “Actually, I was thinking, earlier—before Lance disappeared—about how all the others are working in these noble professions, helping people and contributing to society.  The fact that we have no rent and no electric bill and minimal transportation costs will help us while we’re getting started, but if our escape rooms turn out to be a success and we’re actually turning a profit, we could potentially build up substantial savings.”

“Yeah, I guess we could,” Merlin agreed.

“And, not to brag, but my experience in finance has taught me quite a lot about growing savings, and I was thinking about what I might like to do with that money.  And I think maybe we could start a foundation.”

Merlin wished he could see Arthur’s face, because he loved that look Arthur got when he had a good idea that he was proud of, but didn’t want to seem boastful.  “What kind of foundation?”

“I’m not sure.  We could focus on a particular need, or we could accept grant applications from non-profits like Morgana’s law firm or the centre where Gwaine works as a therapist.”

Tears sprung to Merlin’s eyes, and he had to blink them away again, so the portrait wouldn’t be too blurred.  His heart swelled with affection for Arthur, and he said, “I love it. We’re definitely doing that.”

“Good.”  He felt Arthur nodding.  “I do hope we can.” Then Arthur stiffened.  “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

They both listened quietly until Arthur spoke again.  “I guess it was nothing. They’ve been in the loo an awfully long time, haven’t they?”

And then, instinctively, Merlin glanced down at his watch.  He immediately realised what he had done and his eyes flew back up to the painting, but it was too late.  His heart sank.

“Arthur,” he whispered, throat clenching, “I did something stupid.  I looked at my watch for half a second, and…” he trailed off, unable to verbalise the results of his careless action.

“Has Sir Gawain been replaced?”

Merlin nodded as a couple of tears made their way down his cheeks, but before he could properly respond, he heard a scream from the direction of the restroom.  His head whipped toward the door, and unfortunately, so did Arthur’s, and just like that, Gwen and Morgana were gone.

“No.”  Merlin spun in his chair and gripped Arthur’s arms, probably tight enough to cut off circulation.

Arthur looked back at him, shoulders dropping as fear gave way to resignation.  “We knew that was the most likely outcome, Merlin.”

“Did we?”  Merlin’s voice came out too high.  “I didn’t.”

His denial was met with a heavy sigh.  “I think you did, Merlin. And I think you know what happens next.”

Merlin stubbornly continued to ignore all the evidence before him.

Arthur rested his hands on top of Merlin’s thighs.  Stroking gently with his thumb, he said, “You’ve been trying to hide it, but I know you pretty well, Merlin.  You’ve been kind of antsy tonight. And also, we have both been conveniently ignoring some pretty major mysteries these last few weeks.”  Merlin swallowed hard, still unwilling to face the truth behind Arthur’s words. Arthur’s hands maintained their steady pressure on Merlin’s legs as he continued, “Perhaps tonight’s events, as well as everything strange that has happened since we first set foot in this castle are all leading up to something.”

“What?”  Merlin wasn’t sure how he could sound so shaky uttering only one word.

“I don’t know, Merlin, but it does seem like whatever is happening, you are at the centre of it.”

Every instinct Merlin had told him Arthur was right, but he still fought it.  “Why me?”

At that, Arthur smiled and gave his knee a squeeze.  “Because you’re special.” Merlin scoffed, but Arthur pressed on.  “Think about it, Merlin. You’ve always had this uncanny ability to solve any problem put before you almost effortlessly.  This whole escape room was your idea. And what if all the updates to the castle weren’t arranged by my grandfather or any other long lost relative?  What if this castle really was decaying inside and out until your presence transformed it? Maybe you have more in common with old beardy back there than just your name.”  He gestured behind him toward the portrait of Merlin.

Merlin’s leg started jiggling up and down, but another gentle squeeze from Arthur gave him the courage to face the truth.  He stilled. His voice was raw, barely above a whisper. “You honestly think I can do magic?”

Arthur screwed up his face, considering this.  “I’m not sure you can actually do magic consciously.  I think magic just sort of surrounds you.” He paused, as if thinking through exactly how such magic would work.  “I can’t decide if you’re controlling the magic or if it’s controlling you.”

“You think I’m being controlled by some magical force?”  Merlin recoiled, horrified. “Like I’m not even in charge of my own mind?”

With a chuckle, Arthur said, “Actually, when you put it that way… No, nothing is controlling you.  You are most definitely in charge of your own mind. No magical force could come up with the crazy ideas that come spouting out of your mouth.”

Merlin couldn’t help laughing, but his mirth was short-lived.  He glanced up at the portraits that once displayed medieval knights in shining armour, but now showed his friends, wearing the clothes they had disappeared in.  He looked back at Arthur, who he could always trust to rein in his wild ideas, and who had been a rock, firm in his support of Merlin all night, and admitted, “I’m scared.”

“So am I.”  Arthur responded without hesitation.  “But I also trust that, no matter what happens to me, you will figure this out.”  He planted a gentle kiss on Merlin’s forehead and then promptly leaned back, pulled Merlin up and turned him around to face the portrait of King Arthur.  “So, before that picture displays this handsome face,” he pointed at himself, “we have a mystery to solve. What’s our first step?”

The rapid shift in tone threw Merlin for a moment, but he recovered quickly, grateful to Arthur for, once again, helping him to focus on the task at hand.

“Well, since we’re now admitting that magic is responsible for trapping our friends in paintings,” Merlin shook his head.  That was a weird sentence to say out loud, “there’s really no point in attempting to figure out the logistics of how they disappeared.  So we might as well move on to the why. We’ve had contractors in and out of this castle for weeks now with no disappearances, so is it something about this night that triggered this magic?  Or was it this particular combination of people? Is it simply because they share similar names with the Arthurian characters?”

Arthur walked closer to the wall of portraits, keeping hold of Merlin’s hand and pulling him along.  “The names.” He ran his finger along the base of the frame of Gwen’s portrait, tracing the nameplate.  “It says Gwen now, instead of Queen Guinevere. And,” he slid past King Arthur and Merlin’s portraits, “No more Morgan Le Fay.  It’s Morgana now.”

Together they moved swiftly to the opposite wall.  “The knights are the same,” Arthur continued. “They’ve changed to our friends’ more modern names.”

“Gwaine is a modern name?”  Merlin laughed.

“Oh whatever.  Gwaine’s parents were hippies or something.”

Arthur waved off Merlin’s amusement, but Merlin only laughed harder.  “Lot of hippies getting married and naming their kids in the late 1980s were there?”

“Shut up.”  Arthur shoved Merlin, which was difficult while still keeping a tight grip on his hand.  “You know what I meant. Is whatever is doing this trying to rewrite the old stories and put us into them?  Like it’s trying to modernize the old legends?”

Merlin tilted his head thoughtfully.  It certainly wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to put a modern spin on the Arthurian legends.  In fact, he probably had some books upstairs that did just that. “You know how I got a bunch of books for research while we were putting the escape rooms together?”  Arthur nodded. “I think I have some modern versions of the legends. Do you think they might give us a clue as to what is happening here and why?”

With a shrug, Arthur said, “It’s worth a shot.  We don’t have any other clues.”

Still hand in hand, they headed up to their flat on the third floor. Merlin pulled Arthur into his room to search the bookshelf filled with his old favourite books, as well as some of the new books of Arthurian legends he had acquired over the last few weeks.  As they walked across the room, Arthur glanced over at Merlin’s unmade bed, and then looked away a little too quickly. Merlin tried to suppress a smile. He was fairly certain he knew what was going through Arthur’s mind at that moment.

In an obvious attempt to cover for himself, Arthur scoffed.  “I should have known you’re a ‘leave your bed unmade’ sort of person, Merlin.”

“Yeah,” Merlin huffed.  “In all the years you’ve known me, have you ever seen my bed made?”

“I’ve never seen your bed at all!  You always keep your door closed.” Arthur motioned back toward the door.  “And you did the same back when we used to have game night at your flat.” Merlin raised his eyebrows at Arthur, lips curled into a full-on smirk.  “I mean, not that I was looking for your bed or anything.” He shoved Merlin’s shoulder again. “Shut up.” His cheeks were bright pink, and he rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.  “Show me these books you dragged me up here to find.”

They each pulled a few books from the shelf and then settled on the edge of Merlin’s bed.  They couldn’t exactly hold hands while flipping through books, so they sat with their bodies pressed together from shoulders to hips to knees.  Merlin didn’t have as many modern versions as he’d thought, and they quickly discovered that these books didn’t really give them any hints about the reason for their friends’ disappearances.

Arthur was flipping through _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court_ when he turned to Merlin.  “I know Camelot’s not actually a real place from history, but you don’t think they could have been sent back in time, do you?”

Merlin sat up straight.  “Time travel. I didn’t even think of that.  I actually have a set of comic books about time travelling to Camelot.”  He hopped up from the bed toward the bookshelf. It wasn’t until he was reaching for the first comic that he realised what he had done.  His arm dropped to his side, suddenly made of lead.

Closing his eyes and holding his breath, he turned slowly, forcing his legs to move until he faced the bed.  He knew it would be empty, and he could not bear to open his eyes to confirm it. His pulse rate rose, and he could only take shallow breaths, but he knew he had to face the consequences of his moment of carelessness.

He ground his teeth together and opened his eyes, letting out an involuntary whimper at the sight of the rumpled sheets strewn with the books that had been on Arthur’s lap.  The anxiety that had plagued him all night returned at once, and he couldn’t breathe.

He was gone.  Arthur was gone, and Merlin wanted to scream.  He wanted to sit down and cry. He wanted to kick a wall until his foot bled.  He could not settle on a single emotion, and he felt like he needed to crawl out of his own skin.  He pushed the books aside and sat down on the edge of the bed, deliberately taking deep breaths and blowing them out slowly as he counted to ten.  He managed to calm himself enough so that his mind was able to focus on a single thought. Arthur. He had to see if King Arthur’s portrait had changed.  Merlin shook his head as he stood and walked out of their flat. Of course it had changed. Everyone else’s had, so why wouldn’t Arthur’s? Even so, he had to see it for himself.

His legs felt heavy as he descended the steps to the ground floor and trudged down the hallway toward the Council Room.  The moment he turned into the room, he could see the new portrait. Tears flowed down his cheek as he approached the painting of his best friend.  He looked up into Arthur’s eyes, almost expecting to see a stern look of disappointment, but instead he found the blue eyes almost smiling at him. Giving him hope.  Trusting, as always, that Merlin would solve this puzzle and bring back all of his friends.

The only problem was, Merlin usually didn’t have to approach a puzzle with any sort of plan.  He always just knew what to do instinctively. But now, he didn’t even know where to start. He walked around the Round Table, examining every painting, looking for clues as to where his friends might be now, or how he might go about bringing them back.  He found nothing useful.

Finally, he decided to walk down to the one room in the castle where he felt most at peace.  He still didn’t understand it, but for some reason, the sights, sounds, and smells of Merlin’s Magical Laboratory always made him feel at home.  He reached the lab and crossed the threshold, and all of a sudden his body seemed to melt into the floor, although he was still standing. All the tension vanished from his jaw and his shoulders.  A sense of serenity washed over him, and he closed his eyes, his mind and heart finally at ease.

Now he knew why he had designed this room the way he did, and why it had always felt like home.  It was because this _was_ home.  Merlin had recreated the chamber that he had shared with Gaius during his years in Camelot.  The years he spent with Arthur, as his servant and friend.

All the memories of Camelot came flooding back, and Merlin’s eyes flew open.  He smiled. Now he knew how he would get his friends back. How he would get Arthur back.  He flung out one hand toward the fireplace and said, “forbærnan,” and flames leapt from the hearth and danced along the logs.  Magic. Magic had brought him and Arthur together in this castle, and magic would bring back his friends.

He vaguely remembered setting up a spell that would restore everyone from their frozen state, but he didn’t have his books and notes anymore, so he wasn’t quite sure how he might rediscover it.  Although… his gaze drifted to the books in the case on the back wall. If magic had prepared the castle for him and Arthur, perhaps magic had guided him on his quest for props to fill this room. He tilted his head, his eyes scanning the titles of the books he had purchased mostly because they looked old and seemed like they might fit in a magical laboratory.  His heart leapt as he spotted his old spell book. The first spell book Gaius had given to him, shortly after he arrived in Camelot. Instinctively, he reached out and summoned the book from the shelf, levitating it over to the table and allowing his intuition to guide the pages until the book fell open at exactly the spell he needed.

His magic hummed happily through his veins like it had missed being used.  Merlin almost laughed out loud. An hour ago, even the thought of magic made his skin crawl and his muscles twitch, but now he knew he had been incomplete all these years without that power thrumming just under the surface.

He let his magic loose once more, just for the fun of it.  Raising both hands, he drew smoke from the fire and shaped it into a dragon that flapped its wings and then soared twice around the room before diving back into the fireplace and dissipating without a trace.  Now Merlin did laugh out loud. If he had done that back in Camelot, Gaius would have thrown a fit. His smile wilted, and he felt a pang in his heart. He remembered the day Gaius had died, in the very room this one was modelled after.  Merlin had sat beside his bed, feeding him warm porridge and making sure he drank at least some small sips of water those last few weeks. He thought about one of their last conversations. After they talked, he felt the message was an important one that he would want to remember, so he had magically seared Gaius’s words into his brain.

_ “My boy, I know you’ve been working on a way to bring Arthur back.” _

Merlin had been shocked at the time, but he shouldn’t have been.  Gaius always had a way of seeing right through his lies.

_ “And I also know you are planning something stronger than necromancy.  You want Arthur to return fully and not as a simple shade. I don’t know if it’s possible, Merlin, but if anyone can accomplish this, it will be you.” _

Even when Merlin was setting up the magic that would revive Arthur, he was unsure about its success.  Merlin had worked for years, creating spells that would protect Arthur in his rest and other spells that would prepare for his return.  Magic could only do so much, so after Camelot fell, Merlin made sure that at least a portion of its land would remain in Arthur’s control.  He built this castle using magic and ensured that it would be ready for Arthur whenever he needed it. After Merlin felt everything was in place for his king’s return, he finally allowed himself to rest.

_ “Arthur will need you when he returns, Merlin, and I know you think you can take care of him on your own, but as powerful as you are, you will need help.  You both will. Give him his friends to help. Bring back those who have provided the most support to him in this life.” _

Merlin thought about their group of friends, now represented in the portraits upstairs.  He had included the knights and Gwen in his initial spell, but it had taken many decades for him to forgive Morgana and to acknowledge his own part in her downfall.  After much deliberation, he came to realise that Arthur would need his sister in his next life. She was strong and compassionate. And growing up with her constant goading had made Arthur who he was, and Merlin recognised that he would need that foundation once again.

_ “And Merlin, trust your magic to choose the time of his return.  Don’t force Arthur to come back only to lead his people through a time of crisis.  Allow fate to guide you both to the best path. You and Arthur deserve a happier life than you’ve had this time around.” _

Merlin smiled.  It seemed his magic had chosen well.  The world today was far from perfect, but his and Arthur’s lives had been mostly pleasant so far, as had those of their friends.  He thought about their conversations earlier that evening. Each of their friends were doing what they could to make the world a better place, and he and Arthur had started making plans to follow their lead.  Their contributions might seem insignificant in the bigger picture, but for the people they helped, that small boost might make all the difference.

Now Merlin just had to bring Arthur and the others back properly.  He turned his focus to his old spell book. His magic had opened it to a restoration spell.  It was a simple spell, meant to repair household items that had been broken or worn down. However, the magical theory behind this spell formed the basis of the memory restoration spell that Merlin had created to bring Arthur back fully.  The restoration spell required the caster to be touching at least a portion of the object being repaired, but at the time Merlin had created his version, he didn’t know whether he would be able to physically touch each of his friends. Now, as he reviewed the spell, he breathed a sigh of relief that he’d had the foresight years ago to take that into account.

He had gathered a personal item that had belonged to each of the people he intended to bring back and secreted them away into the magic of the castle.

“See, Arthur!” he called aloud, even though he knew Arthur could not hear him at the moment.  “I told you the contractors didn’t put all those new things around the castle!”

Merlin headed upstairs to collect the tokens he would use to restore his friends.  He started in Arthur’s chamber. It was not quite the same as he remembered from their days in Camelot.  It seemed Gaius’s chamber was the only one he had faithfully recreated. The quill that Arthur had once used to sign important papers—often after Merlin had composed them for him—sat atop the king’s desk.  He and Arthur had decided the quill fit with the motif, so even though it was not directly part of the escape room, they had left it there.

When Merlin picked up the quill, his magic flared beneath his skin.  Now that he remembered this item once belonged to Arthur, the mere act of touching it solidified his connection with the man he loved so dearly.  Merlin smiled. He couldn’t wait to see Arthur again. To finally kiss him, knowing their true history together. He had no doubt that Arthur would still want to be with him.  After all, just as Merlin did now, Arthur would have both the memories of his life as king of Camelot and of his modern life. And although during _this_ life, they were just starting a romantic relationship, and in the past, they had never been free to express their feelings, Merlin knew from the depths of his heart that Arthur loved him.

Tucking the quill into his pocket, Merlin moved swiftly through the rest of the castle, collecting the others’ personal items.  In Gwen’s chamber, he found the gold circlet she had often worn as queen, as well as the silver bracelet Morgana had treasured. He remembered tying Gwen and Morgana’s items together, hoping their once deep friendship would also be restored.  Although he knew the bracelet had been a gift to Morgana from Morgause, he hoped that with the love and support of her friends, she would be kind and compassionate in her new life, like she had been before she felt betrayed by her family simply for having magic.

He paused for a moment, turning the bracelet over in his hand.  Morgana had mentioned earlier that she and her friend, Morgause, had started their non-profit law firm together.  Merlin had not intentionally brought Morgause back, but it appeared his magic had other ideas. Come to think of it, several of his acquaintances throughout his life were familiar from his days in Camelot.

“And Mum,” he whispered, smiling and shaking his head.  His magic knew what it was doing. He didn’t know who he would be without Hunith in his life.

However, he did know that, even though his magic had reincarnated his mother and a few others, their memories of the past would never return.  He had only included a few of Arthur’s closest friends and family in his restoration spell. And, actually, this new version of Morgause sounded much better than her previous incarnation, so once again, Merlin congratulated himself on his foresight.

Merlin moved on to the kitchen, where Gwaine’s old necklace hung on a hook as if waiting for its owner to pop in to grab a snack.  Then he went around to the armoury where he knew the rest of the knights’ tokens had appeared. First, he found Percivale’s sleeveless chainmail hanging with the armour along one wall.  Then, high on the opposite wall, out of reach from escape room patrons, he found Lancelot’s sword and Elyan’s dagger. As he summoned both from the wall, Merlin’s gaze caught on another weapon that hung beside them, and he started laughing.

“A thing of beauty,” he said, grinning as he summoned Leon’s favourite crossbow as well.  He had not yet met Leon in this lifetime, but he had no doubt that since he had included him in the restoration spell, wherever he was, Leon would suddenly awaken and come to find his former king.

With all of his friends’ personal items in tow, Merlin walked up the stairs back to his magical laboratory.  He spread everything out on a table with Arthur’s quill at the centre. After all, symbolism was very important when casting ancient spells.  He took two steps back, held out his hands and began chanting the words of the enchantment. They danced off his tongue as if he had spoken them a thousand times.  He felt the power rise within him and the objects on the table began to glow. His voice raised on the final words, and Merlin was overwhelmed with a sense of completeness.  A blinding flash brightened the room for one second, and then everything went dim. Although the items on the table looked completely normal, Merlin knew that the spell had worked.  Heart racing, he tore out of the lab and ran toward the Council Room.

He could hear their laughter from down the hall, and he thought his heart would burst.  As soon as he rounded the corner, Merlin stopped, taking in the sight of King Arthur, his queen, his sister, and his knights.  Gwen and Morgana were hugging. Lance and Elyan were shaking hands as Gwaine clapped Percy on the back, grinning ear to ear. And Arthur was watching the door.  As soon as he saw Merlin, his eyes lit up.

“You did it.”  And they moved at the same moment, drawn together like magnets, unable to resist the pull of one another.  As they met in the middle, Arthur’s arms looped around Merlin’s waist, pulling him close, and Merlin threw his arms around Arthur’s shoulders, nuzzling his face into his neck.

“I missed you,” Merlin murmured into Arthur’s skin.

Arthur chuckled, pulling back to look at his watch.  “I was only gone for, what? About an hour or two?”

Merlin reached up and cupped Arthur’s face, stroking his cheeks with both thumbs.  “Not hours. Centuries.”

Turning his face to press a kiss into Merlin’s palm, Arthur whispered, “I know.  I’m sorry I left you alone for so long.”

Merlin raised his eyes to meet Arthur’s.  “It wasn’t your fault. I’m just glad to have you back.”

Arthur nodded his agreement, eyes twinkling now.  He gazed lovingly at Merlin for several moments before pulling him into a kiss.    All those years of agony, not knowing for certain whether he would ever see Arthur again, faded into the past.  He had his king back, and this time, Merlin was free to let him know exactly how he felt.

He broke the kiss, but his hands continued their gentle caress of Arthur’s cheeks.  He whispered, “I love you.”

And again, Arthur nodded and smiled, but his eyes were pensive, indicating that he understood Merlin’s words meant not only that he loved him now, but that he always had.  He took a deep breath and looked straight into Merlin’s eyes before echoing his words. “I love you, too.”

The raw honesty in Arthur’s face as he finally admitted how he felt threatened to overwhelm Merlin, so he simply pulled Arthur close and squeezed as tight as he could, burying his face in the warmth of Arthur’s shoulder.

Gwaine over-emphatically cleared his throat at the same moment as Morgana called out, “Okay, enough of the sickening reunion, already.  Don’t you share a flat upstairs? Save all that for when you’re alone later.”

Ears burning, Merlin chuckled awkwardly and started to pull away, but Arthur kept a tight hold around his waist.  “I’m King Arthur, Morgana. You can’t tell me what to do.”

Morgana lifted her chin and threw her shoulders back.  “I am your older sister, the rightful queen of Camelot, and I can order you--”  She stopped, waving one hand and shaking her head. “You know what? It’s not even worth it.  We’ll catch up over here. You two snog as much as you want.”

Everyone laughed, and Arthur planted one last sloppy kiss on Merlin’s cheek just to prove his point, and then they joined the others, sharing hugs and handshakes and tears around the Round Table.  As he listened to Gwaine and Percy catching up, Merlin noticed Arthur and Gwen standing a few feet away, talking quietly. Instinctively, he glanced at Lance, who was also watching them. Lance must have felt his gaze, because he looked Merlin’s way and gave a slight nod, smiling reassuringly.  They both felt confident in their partner’s love for them, but they also knew Arthur and Gwen had a great deal of history they couldn’t simply ignore.

Elyan walked along the wall looking at the portraits of the knights.  All the paintings had returned to their original state: inaccurate images of a legendary king and his court.  “These just look wrong now.” His comment drew the others’ attention, and they all started laughing at the odd strangers representing them.  “And hang on… where’s Sir Leon? Didn’t you bring him back, too, Merlin?”

“He should be back,” Merlin explained.  “I just haven’t met him yet in this life.”

Percy chuckled.  “Actually, if you’ll let me have my phone back, I can text him.  He could probably be here in about an hour.”

“So you know Leon?  I mean... here? Now?”  Arthur gestured oddly. The terminology of speaking about two separate lives would take some getting used to.

Looking down for a moment, Percy smiled.  “Uh, yeah. We just started dating a couple of months ago.”

“You’re kidding!”  Arthur laughed out loud and walked over to re-join Merlin.  “So, what does he do? I mean, the rest of you are all pursuing some noble, selfless profession.  What’s Leon been up to?”

Percy exchanged an amused glance with Elyan, who nodded and said, “Tell him.  Somehow, I don’t think he’ll be surprised.”

Arthur looked at Merlin, confused, but all Merlin could do was shrug.  He didn’t have any idea what mysterious profession Leon might have chosen this time around.

“He’s actually the mayor of our borough.”  Percy smiled proudly, looking around to see the others’ reactions.  “But he hopes one day to run for Parliament.”

Mouths dropped open around the room, but soon everyone was nodding and laughing.  Leon as a politician actually made perfect sense. Arthur unhooked his arm from around Merlin and went to clap Percy on the shoulder.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.  Good for Leon!” Arthur tossed his head back with a hearty laugh.  “Let him deal with all the ups and downs of leadership this time. I’m certain he’ll do a better job than I ever did.”  He paused for a moment before telling Percy, “I do want to see Leon again, but if you can hold off on texting him for just a few minutes, I’d like to speak to everyone first.”

Arthur turned and waved his arm toward the table in the centre of the room.  “Would you please take a seat at the Round Table?” They all exchanged smiles as they pulled out chairs and sat, waiting for their king to address them.

“I know we have a lot to catch up on and some rather unique issues to deal with.  Like, for example, Gwaine has just spent the entire night flirting with my sister, who, by the way, had me killed.”

Gwaine threw his arms wide.  “Hey, she killed me, too, but, honestly, can you blame me?  She’s clever and she’s hot.” He quirked his head to the side and peered at Morgana.  “She always was, actually, if you ignore her psychotic tendency for murder.”

Morgana gave him an amused smirk, but Arthur jumped in before she could respond.

“We asked you all here tonight to test our escape room.”  As he spoke, Arthur reached across the table and picked up the letter from King Arthur that had started their initial quest that night.  He laughed. “The purpose of your quest tonight was to discover if, together, you would qualify to be knights of Camelot. Even though you didn’t get to finish the escape room challenge, each one of you has proven your loyalty and capability many times over.”

He glanced Morgana’s way and opened his mouth as if he were about to take back what he had just said in her case, but he stopped and stared thoughtfully at his sister for several moments instead.  Then, displaying his own loyalty and wisdom, he gave a firm nod and continued.

“Hearing tonight how every one of you are dedicating your lives to serving others has been an inspiration, and Merlin and I were talking earlier about how we might follow your lead.  This property has been in my family for generations, and when we decided to start our business here, the old castle held a few surprises for us. Let’s just say it has some features that will enable us to run this business at a very low cost.”  He looked toward Merlin. “I’m guessing we have your magic to thank for that?”

Merlin spread his arms wide with a smug grin.

“I thought so.”  Arthur chuckled. “I know your escape room experience was cut short here tonight, but I really do think we’ve built something that will attract business from locals and tourists alike.  So, as soon as we start turning a profit, we’d like to set up a foundation to help fund projects like refugee assistance,” he motioned toward Gwaine, “or low cost legal services,” he nodded at Morgana, “or educational opportunities for children, or whatever project we find that might need a financial boost.”

Their friends smiled and nodded along, murmuring their approval of Arthur’s plan.

Arthur sat up straighter in his chair, pleased with their approval.  “I’ve been thinking about what we might name our foundation. I think the whole Camelot thing might be a little cliché.  Since it’s the magic of this castle that will enable us to start it, I think the Clempsten Foundation might be fitting.”

Merlin snorted loudly.  Since his memories had returned, he had not even thought about the name of the castle, but now he remembered that when he initially set up the magic that would ensure the castle would be in Arthur’s possession, he decided to avoid any reference to Camelot, as that might draw the wrong kind of attention.  Instead, he went with an inside joke.

“Actually, I didn’t name the castle Clempsten.  The name must have been shortened over time from the original old English name I chose.”

Merlin tried to keep the smirk from his face, but he was not terribly successful.  Arthur narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Okay, so what name did you give the castle?”

Licking his lips and savouring the moment, Merlin said slowly, “I called it Clympesteng Castle.”

The others looked a little confused, but Arthur rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Clotpole Castle?  Really, Merlin?”

With an innocent shrug, Merlin declared, “Hey, I had to make sure it went to the right person, and you’re the biggest clotpole in all of Albion.”

Arthur hooked his foot around the leg of Merlin’s chair and slid Merlin towards him.  He reached out and grabbed Merlin’s collar, pulling him close. “I’ll make you pay for that, Merlin.  Every day. For the rest of your life.”

A thrill rose in Merlin’s stomach at the thought of spending every day of his life with Arthur, so he grinned.  “You promise?”

Arthur pressed a kiss onto his lips and murmured in a low voice,  “I promise.”

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

---  
  
 

Unfortunately, Camelot Escapes is not a real place, but in the process of researching to create art, Rou discovered some Arthurian themed escape rooms that _are_ real! Let us know if you visit any of these places!

 

in the US:

[King Arthur's Castle: The Holy Grail (Madison, NJ)](https://escaperoomnj.com/king-arthurs-castle-the-holy-grail/)

[Excalibur: The Untold Story of King Arthur (Pittsburgh, PA)](https://crafthouse.iqescape.com/)

[Pendragon (Long Beach, CA)](https://worldofescapes.com/los-angeles/quests/escape-room-long-beach-pendragon)

[Sorcerer's Study (Irvine, CA)](https://worldofescapes.com/los-angeles/quests/Square-Room-Escape-harry-potter-room)

[King Arthur's Quest (Hudson, MA)](https://worldofescapes.com/boston/quests/puzzlescape-hudson-king-arthurs-quest)

[Excalibur (Frederick, MD)](https://www.clueiq.com/about)

[Merlin's Wizarding Academy (Hollywood, FL)](https://boxroom.com/escape-room/merlins-wizarding-academy)

[Knights of the Round Table (Los Angeles, CA)](https://www.ladragonstudios.com/knights-of-the-round-table)

[](https://www.ladragonstudios.com/knights-of-the-round-table)

 

in Europe:

[King Arthur's Secret (Leeds, UK)](https://thegreatescapegame.co.uk/our-escape-rooms/king-arthurs-secret/)

[Medieval (Budapest, Hungary)](http://hu.qadviser.eu/budapest/escape-rooms/medieval-trap)

[](http://hu.qadviser.eu/budapest/escape-rooms/medieval-trap) [King Arthur (Israel, we think?)](http://www.escape-rooms.co.il/rooms/king-arthur/?lang=en)

 

in Australia:

[Medieval Quest (Wollongong, NSW)](https://breakoutbar.com.au/rooms/medieval/)

[](https://breakoutbar.com.au/rooms/medieval/) [Kryal Castle: A Land of Adventure (Leigh Creek, VIC) ... (not really an escape room, but they have an entire castle-- round table included!!)](http://www.kryalcastle.com.au/)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [art for "Camelot Escapes"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16180130) by [rou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rou/pseuds/rou)




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